





LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. I 



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f UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 






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Vv 



THE 



CHURCH'S BEST STATE; 



OR 

CONSTANT REVIVALS OF RELIGION, 

BY 

REV. SIMEON W.- HARKEY, 

Frederick, Md. 

SECOND EDITION WITH AN APPENDIX. 




" O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of 
the years make known; in wrath remember mercy." — Hab. iii. 2. 



BALTIMORE: 



PRINTED AND PUBLISHED AT PUBLICATION ROOMS, 7 S. LIBERTY ST.; 
ALSO BY TAPPAN & DENNET, AND CROCKER & BREWSTER, BOS- 
TON; D. APPLETON & CO., AND SAXTON &. DAYTON, NEW 
YORK ; C. H. KAY & CO., PITTSBURG. 



1843. 




< 






Entered according to the act of Congress of the United States, in 
the year 1842, by Simeon W. Harkey, in the Clerk's office of 
the District Court of Maryland. 






CONTENTS 



INTRODUCTION. 

The grand design of the Christian Church is the regeneration and 
sanctification of souls. 7 — 15 

CHAPTER I. 

What is true religion 1 An important question. The Savior tells 
us. Matt. xxii. 37 — 40. Evidences of love to God. Quotation 
from Rev. Wra. Jay. Quotation from Rev. Dr. S. S. Schmucker. 

16—36 
CHAPTER II. 

What is a genuine Revival of Religion, considered negatively 1 
Not the work of man, but of God's Holy Spirit. Two import- 
ant inferences from this, viz : men cannot produce revivals, and 
opposition to them is opposition to the work of God. A genuine 
revival not a scene of wild confusion and disorder of mere ani- 
mal excitement. What kind and degree of excitement is allow- 
able. 37—69 
CHAPTER III. 

What is a genuine revival considered affirmatively? Term is de- 
rived from two Latin words, which literally signify to re-live, or 
to restore to new life. Revival characterized by three prominent 
features, viz : quickening of christians, undeceiving and bringing 
in of hypocrites, and conversion of sinners. 70 — 77 

CHAPTER IV. 

Are genuine revivals the Church's Rest State % A discussion be- 
tween Mr. A. and Mr. B. 78—89 

CHAPTER V. 
Constant revivals possible — proven from the nature of a revival, 
from the fact that we may always enjoy the influences of the 
Holy Spirit, and from the fact that such a state has been enjoyed 



IV CONTENTS. 

by the Church and by individual congregations for many years 
together. 90—103 

CHAPTER VI. 
" New Measures" — u Old Measures." Means to be employed for 
the promotion of revivals. 1. Faithful preaching of the gospel. 
2. Protracted meetings. 3. Catechetical instructions. 4. Sunday 
schools. 5. The circulation of tracts and books on Practical Piety. 
6. Social prayer meetings and individual effort. 104 — 137 

CHAPTER Vn. 

How to conduct revivals. When to appoint a protracted meeting, 
how often to be held and how long continued. Directions during 
the commencement and progress of a revival. Conducting meet- 
ings. Treatment of the awakened. 138 — 154 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Conclusion and application of the whole subject, with an earnest 
and affectionate appeal in behalf of revivals. 155 — 170 



APPENDIX. 

CHAPTER I.— Justification by Faith. 171—198 

CHAPTER II.— Anxious meetings. 189—204 

CHAPTER III.— How to treat young converts. 205—216 

CHAPTER IV.— How Churches can help ministers. 217—256 



{ 



PREFACE. 

The idea of a constant revival, and the design of the 
following work, were suggested to the author's mind a 
few years ago, by reading a letter from the pen of Rev. 
Dr. Alexander, published in a work entitled " Sprague's 
Lectures on Revivals." He was subsequently appointed 
to preach a sermon before the Ecclesiastical Body of 
which he is a member, on revivals, which led him to a 
thorough examination of the whole subject, and produced 
the firm conviction in his mind, that constant revivals of 
religion are possible, and that it is the sacred duty of all 
true Christians to labor and pray that they may be enjoy- 
ed ; and that this would unquestionably be The Church's 
Best State. A constant revival state in a congregation 
is certainly vastly preferable to temporary excitements, 
however deep and beneficial in their results ; and if its 
attainment is possible, ought not every congregation to 
enjoy it? It is to awaken attention on this subject, and 
contribute a feeble mite to the attainment of so desirable 
an end, that this little work is now presented to the pub- 
lic. The author's object is to do good, and if his labors 
aid, even in a small degree, to promote genuine revivals 
and the salvation of souls, he will feel himself abundantly 

compensated. He has not hesitated to use any suitable 
materials that he met with ; yet the principal part of the 



O PREFACE. 

work is the result of his own experience. He hopes 
that no one will be able to call him either a sectarian or 
a bigot from any thing found within these pages, and that 
these teachings are in perfect accoraance with the Scrip- 
tures of Divine Truth. May our Divine Redeemer own 
and bless this humble but sincere effort to promote his 
kingdom upon earth ! To Him, and to all true friends 
of genuine revivals, the work is devoutly and affection- 
ately dedicated by 

The Author. 
Frederick, Md., March 28th, 1842. 



Advertisement to the Second Editioii. 

This little work having met with such favor, that in 
about nine months after its first publication, the entire 
edition, which was a large one, was sold out, the Author 
is induced to issue this Second Edition. He has care- 
fully revised the work, and made a few corrections, and 
added several chapters, on important subjects, in an ap- 
pendix, which it is hoped will greatly enhance its value. 
It is again commended to the friends of genuine revivals 
and to the blessing of the Great Head of the Church. 






INTRODUCTION. 

The grand and glorious design of the Christian Church 
upon earth, is the salvation of a lost world, by the regen- 
eration and sanctification of immortal souls. This funda- 
mental truth is so obvious, and so generally admitted in 
theory, that it might seem unnecessary to state, much 
less to defend it, did not the practice of so many profes- 
sed christians contradict their profession in this particular. 
But while we see those into whose hands the Lord has 
committed, instrumentally, the work of the world's con- 
version, contending more for forms and ceremonies, than 
striving to promote the life and power of true godliness ; 
more zealous in defending their creeds and confessions 
of faith, than in preaching " Christ and him crucified;" 
more anxious to make proselytes, than to gather souls 
into the fold of the Redeemer ; more concerned about 
the magnificence and splendor of their churches, and the 
pomp and display of their worship, than the state of vital 
piety among the members of their congregations ; — while 
we see these things, it becomes our duty to go back to 
" the first principles of Christianity," and endeavor to 
recall the attention of men to the original design of our 
holy religion. Nay more; while we see so many ac- 
knowledged and ruling members in the churches, who 
are entirely destitute and ignorant of experimental relU 
gion ; who have " a name to live, but are dead;" " have 
a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof;" who 
instead of being " the light of the world, and the salt of 
the earth," are a dead weight, an incubus upon the vita! 
1 



* 1NTR0DUCTI0X. 

energies of the church, the faithful watchman upon 
Zion's walls dare not hold his peace. The grand design 
of the church is forgotten, souls are in danger, and the 
world is perishing: he must therefore sound the alann, 
nnd obey God. who bids him. •• Cry aloud, spare not; 
lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people 
their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins." 
— Is. lviii. 1. 

But what is the grand design of the church ? What 
great object had the Lord in view in her establishment 
upon earth ? Have we stated it correctly when we said 
that it is the salvation of a lost world by the regenera- 
tion and sanctificaiion of souls ? That this is her most 
sublime and glorious design, and should be constandy, 
singly, and most ardently pursued by her, is evident, in 
the hrst place, from the itatv.re of the case. 

The world has apostatized from God, and must be re- 
claimed or perish. All men are by nature fallen, pollu- 
ted, guilty sinners, and must be regenerated and sancti- 
fied, or be eternally lost. But the church possesses the 
only means by which this can be accomplished. Hers 
is the only plan of salvation which the God of infinite 
love and wisdom has devised: hence it follows incontro- 
vertibly, that her great business is the regeneration and 
-anctihcation of souls, and that just so far as she fails of 
•::is object, she falls short of her duty, and thwarts the 
benevolen: and merciful design of her Founder. The 
christian church is •• the light of the world ;" but let her 
iight be obscured and her glory tarnished by the substi- 
tution of shadows for substance, and ceremonies and 
forms for the life and power of vital piety, and her object 
is not accomplished, the sun is at once blotted from the 
:noral firmament of the world, and •• darkn?--s again 



INTRODUCTION. 9 

Covers the earth, and gross darkness the people ;" the 
world is left in ruins. The church is " the salt of the 
earth," but if this "salt have lost its savor, wherewith 
shall it be salted ?" — mankind will then be left to rot in 
their own corruption. The church is the world's only 
star of hope, but if this star be quenched or its glory 
concealed, the dark curtain of despair will at once en- 
shroud our wretched guilty race. How important then 
that christians should ever keep the real design of the 
church prominently and vividly before their minds, and 
labor unceasingly for its accomplishment. 

But that the conversion and sanctification of souls is the 
grand design of the church is further evident from the 
fact, that this is indispensable to the salvation of men. 
No souls can be saved, unless they are regenerated and 
sanctified. Of this the Saviour and his apostles do most 
positively and solemnly assure us. " Verily, verily, I 
say unto thee," said Jesus to Nicodemus, " except a man 
be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." 
John Hi. 3, "Without holiness no man shall see the 
Lord." Heb. xii. 14. " Be ye holy for I am holy saith 
the Lord." 1 Pet. i. 16. If therefore, the church as the 
instrument in the hands of God, does not labor for and 
effect the regeneration and sanctification of souls, what 
good does she accomplish for the spiritual interests of men ? 
None at all. She might as well have had no existence. 
The Savior has said, «• For what is a man profited, if he 
shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ? or 
what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Mat. 
xvi. 26. And so we may ask most emphatically, what 
advantage will it be to us in a future world to have been 
members of the church here, if our souls are not saved ? 
It will only add to our misery then to have to say, "Lord, 



10 INTRODUCTION. 

Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name ? and in thy 
name have done many wonderful works ?" if after all we 
must hear the dreadful sentence, "I never knew you ; 
depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Mat. vii. 22, 23. 
It will be of no avail to us then, to have been professors 
of religion ; to have worn the badge of discipleship ; to 
have had fine churches, eloquent preachers, flourishing 
congregations, and every thing belonging to the exterior, 
beautiful and good ; if our souls are not saved, because 
not regenerated and sanctified. Is it not then, ought it 
not to be the object and aim of the church, instrumental- 
ly, to convert, purify, and fit precious souls for heaven 1 
The same important truth becomes still more evident, 
when we remember, that the gospel scheme is adapted, 
with infinite wisdom to produce this great end. All the 
institutions and ordinances of the church, not only de- 
clare her design, but are also means of grace used by the 
Holy Spirit for its accomplishment. 

What, for example, is the design and legitimate ten- 
dency of the ministry of reconciliation ? Let the apos- 
tle Paul answer : " Now then we are ambassadors for 
Christ; as though God did beseech you by us, we pray 
you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." 2 Cor. 
v. 20. To bring sinners to the Savior is, therefore, the 
great business of the ministry. For the conversion and 
sanctification of souls the faithful pastor labors and prays, 
preaches and toils, by night and day, in season and out 
of season. This is the great work to which all his 
efforts must tend. So the Master has taught by precept 
and example. When he sent John the Baptist, as his 
forerunner to prepare the way for his coming, he gave 
him this text to preach from, "Repent ye, for the king- 
dom of heaven is at hand;" and John preached " the 



INTRODUCTION. 1 1 

baptism of repentance," calling upon his Jewish brethren 
"to flee from the wrath to come," to "bring forth fruits 
meet for repentance : And think not to say within your- 
selves, we have Abraham to our father : for I say unto 
you, God is able of these stones to raise up children unto 
Abraham." Mat. iii. 2, 8, 9. As though he had said, no 
Jewish extraction or privileges, or piety of ancestors will 
justify you in the sight of God, or save your souls ; 
nothing will accomplish this but repentance towards God 
and faith in the coming Messiah ; nothing but a total 
change of heart and mind. 

When Christ himself commenced his public ministry, 
he took the same text, and called upon all that heard him 
saying, "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at 
hand," and positively assured all," " Except ye repent 
ye shall all likewise perish." Mat. iv. 17, Luke xiii. 3. 

When the apostles were sent forth, they were com- 
manded to " Go into all the world and preach the gospel 
to every creature ;" assured that " He that belie veth and 
is baptised, shall be saved ; but he that believeth not shall 
be damned!" They consequently went abroad and 
preached every where, "That men should repent." — 
Hence we hear a Peter on the day of Pentecost, full of 
the Holy Ghost and heavenly fire, addressing the thou- 
sands, who inquired, " Men and brethren what shall we 
do ?" and saying to them, " Repent and be baptised 
every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the 
remission of sins : and ye shall receive the gift of the 
Holy Ghost." Acts ii. 37, 38. And what was the result? 
The conversion of three thousand in one day ! Does 
this not prove the design of the church to be the regene- 
ration and sanctification of souls ? Hence also we hear 
a Paul standing up before the philosophers and wise men 



13 INTRODUCTION. 

of Athens, exclaim, " The times of this ignorance God 
winked at, but now commandeth all men every where to 
repent." Acts xvii. 30. The apostles evidently under- 
stood that the grand design of their preaching and labors, 
and of the church which they were to establish, was the 
conversion of sinners and the sanctification of souls. 

But again ; what is the design and tendency of the sa- 
craments of the church? Do they not also prove the 
object of the church to be as stated? What does bap- 
tism teach ? Evidently, and in the most forcible manner 
too, that men are sinners, vile, polluted, and guilty, and 
therefore need to be regenerated, washed, sanctified, be- 
fore they can be acceptable members of Christ's church 
upon earth, or fit to dwell with him in heaven. Does it 
not show that as water cleanses the body from all natural 
pollution, so the religion of the Savior, with its blood of 
atonement, and Spirit of all grace, is perfectly adapted to 
cleanse and purify our souls ? — And what is the design 
and tendency of the Lord's Supper, that other sacrament 
of the New Testament church, which is to be so fre- 
quently and solemnly celebrated by christians ? Does it 
not constantly, prominently, and vividly present the great 
cardinal feature of the christian scheme, the atonement 
by the blood of Christ, and the indispensable necessity 
of being sanctified by that blood ? Does it not always 
present a Savior crucified, and tell us in a manner much 
more powerful and affecting than it is possible for lan- 
guage to express it, " He was wounded for our trans- 
gressions ; he was bruised for our iniquities ; the chas- 
tisement of our peace was upon him ; and with his 
stripes we are healed." Is. liii. 5. The whole atone- 
ment is based upon the fact, that man is a sinner, and 
that he therefore must be regenerated and sanctified. 



INTRODUCTION. 1 3 

Thus the institutions and sacraments of the church both 
teach her design and are means for its accomplishment. 
Who, after all this, can doubt that the grand design of 
the church is, the salvation of a lost world by the regen- 
eration and sanctifacation of souls ? To this irresistable 
conclusion, might be added a number of express declara- 
tions of the sacred scriptures. When the Savior's con- 
ception and birth were made known to Joseph, the es- 
poused husband of Mary, he was instructed " to call his 
name Jesus; because he should save his people from 
their sins." Mat. i. 21. Hence the great work which 
our Lord came to do, was to " save his people from their 
sins." For this he came, lived, taught, labored, prayed, 
suffered and died. For this he arose from the dead, as- 
cended to heaven, and intercedes at the right hand of 
God the Father. And for this he established his church, 
and instituted all the ordinances of religion and the means 
of grace. But he cannot save men from their sins with- 
out regenerating and sanctifying their souls ; hence this 
is the grand design of his mediatorial kingdom. Hence 
he himself declares, " The Son of man is come to seek 
and to save that which was lost." Luke xix. 10. Many 
other passages might be quoted, but it is unnecessary ; 
the argument is complete and unanswerable. The design 
of the church is correctly stated in the first sentence of 
this introduction. 

We have dwelt somewhat upon this point in our intro- 
duction, because we are about to deduce several very im- 
portant inferences from it, and also because it forms the 
grand foundation of our little work. Upon it we build 
our whole superstructure ; and hence we wished to de- 
fine and settle our position clearly, and lay a solid and 
immoveable basis. 



U 

The inferences which we deduce from the preceding 
argument are the following : — 

First, If the regeneration and sane tin ration of souls is 
the grand design of the church, then it follows, that jut t 
so far as she fails to accomplish this design, she falls 
short of her duty, disappoints the expectations of her 
Pounder, and is gnilrv of the blood of souls in the sight 
of God. Consequently all those men, ministers and 
members of the church, who do not employ all the efforts 
and use every means which God has given them for the 
conversion of sinners, do, to the same extent,, overlook 
and really defeat the great object for which the Savior es- 
tablished his church upon earth. They are standing in 
the way of the kingdom of God; neither enteiinff in 
themselves nor permitting others to do so, who would. 
What a fearful account of their stewardship will all such 
have to render at the great day of the Lord ! 

Again ; if die conversion and sancdrlcation of soul: 
the grand design of the church, then that is demrly her 
best state in whieh the greatest number of souls are re- 
generated. It is not therefore when she enjoys most 
peace, possesses most wealth, has the greatest number of 
learned and popular preachers, the most splendid and cost- 
ly church edifices, or is externally in the most flourish- 
ing condition, that she is necessarily in her best state. 
No. She may then be in her very worst condition. She 
may possess all this and not be instrumental in the eon- 
version of souls, and the filling op of heaven with blessed 
inhabitant. 

Finally, If the grand business of the church is the re- 

ir^era'.ion an-i ^ ctifieatioB of sov.ls. then if follows -.hit 

those measures, agreeing with the spiiit and precepts of 

.-? gospel, which God approves and blesses to the con- 



INTRODUCTION. 15 

version and sanctification of the greatest number of pre- 
cious souls, are the best. The most important measures 
to be employed, God has prescribed; and these dare not 
be neglected or crowded out by others of human inven- 
tion. Such are the preaching of the word, the proper 
administration of the sacraments, and prayer. But in 
many things relating to external modes and measures, 
God has given us no specific directions, and consequent- 
ly left us to be guided by the spirit of the gospel, in con- 
nection with sound reason and experience. In such cases 
those means or measures are the best which do the most 
good ; which God blesses to the conversion and sanctifi- 
cation of the greatest number of souls. The dispute 
about old and new measures among christians and bre- 
thren is therefore great folly. In all essential matters 
God has decided the measures to be used by prescribing 
them ; and in non-essentials we should have charity for 
each other, and all employ those means which God 
blesses most; and which accomplish the most good 
among the people for whom we labor, and in the circum- 
stances in which we are placed. 



THE CHURCH'S BEST STATE. 



CHAPTER I. 

WHAT IS TRUE RELIGION? 

No question can be of greater practical importance 
than this, what is true godliness, and do ive really pos- 
sess it ? At the same time it seems necessary that we 
should answer it before we proceed to the more gen- 
eral one, xohat is a genuine revival of religion, and is 
this the churches best state? Because if we have a 
correct idea of true religion or piety, we shall have 
no difficulty in understanding and appreciating what 
is meant by a revival of it. Our blessed Savior has 
given us the best definition of true religion, doubtless, 
that can be given. He said to a certain lawyer, " Thou 
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and 
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the 
first and great commandment. And the second is like 
unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On 
these two commandments hang all the law and the 
prophets." 1 This is true religion ; its very essence 
and life ; and may be summed up in one word, love : 
supreme love to God, and subordinate love to our fel- 

"Mat. xxii. 37—40. 



THE ESSENCE OF RELIGION 17 

low-men. This is the religion, not only of all truly 
pious men in this world, but of all holy and intelligent 
beings throughout the entire universe. The very es- 
sence of that piety, which glows so intensely in the 
bosoms of seraphs, is love to their Maker and to 
each other. Love constitutes heaven ; its absence is 
hell. Without it there can be no happiness in any 
part of God's universe \ with it in all its fullness and 
perfection, there can be no misery. No wonder 
therefore that the Master has said, " On these two 
commandments hang all the law and the Prophets !" 
That is, this is the sum and substance of the religion 
of the Bible. It follows then, that all true christians 
and the angels of heaven have the same religion ; ex- 
cept that in the case of the former it is modified to 
suit their fallen condition. And yet some men affect 
to deny the truth and divinity of the christian religion ! 
They might as well deny the existence of the sun 
shining in his noon-day splendor ! The religion of 
the Bible, which is love to God and man, must be 
true, even if no rational account of its origin and pro- 
mulgation in the world could be given. If that bles- 
sed book, which declares that the sum and substance 
of the system which it teaches, is supreme love to our 
Maker, and love to our fellows as to ourselves, had 
been discovered in some cave, or dug out of some 
mound of the earth, or no person could tell whence it 
came, it must still be true. It cannot be false, because 
it is founded upon the character of God and the very 
nature of things. Deity must undergo an entire change, 
and the order of his moral universe be subverted, be- 



1-8 IS LOVE TO GO» AND MAN, 

jtove it could prove false. So true is it, that "■ we hare 
sot believed cunningly devised fables." Securely es- 
tablished upon this eternal and immoveable rock, let 
the infuriate waves of infidelity roll and dash until their 
violence is spent, we cannot be harmed. But let chris- 
tians be careful never to belie their religion, or forget 
what it is. Let them remember that " God," and their 
religion u is love ; and he that dwelleth in love dwell- 
eth in God, and God in him." 1 u He that loveth not 
knoweth not God, for God is love." 2 " If any man 
love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema 
maranatha." 3 O let them remember these solemn 
and interesting statements, and they will no longer be 
content with ceremonies, while their hearts know no- 
thing of love to God and each other ; they will no 
longer grasp the shadow and miss the substance, or 
rest in the form, but deny the power of true god- 
liness. 

Should any one here inquire, how we may knoic 
that we love God, or w T hat are the evidences of true 
piety, we reply by asking another question, viz. how 
do you know that you love any person or object in 
this world ? Your answer to my inquiry, will also be 
an answer to your's: because love in its principle 
or essence is the same in all cases. It is a feeling, an 
affection of the heart, and its existence must be known 
to us, and will be manifest to others, always in the 
same manner. Now take the case of an absent friend 
whom you ardently and tenderly love. How do you 
know that you love him? You will perhaps say, 

'John iv. 16. 2 Ibid. v. 8. 3 1 Cor. xvi. 22. 



EVIDENCES OF LOVE TO THE REDEEMER. 19 

\feel it; my soul is drawn out in affection towards 
him ! Well, just so, if you love your God and Sa- 
vior ; you must feel it too, if you possess this love ; 
and your soul will be sweetly drawn out in warm af- 
fection towards Him. If you love your absent friend 
you will often think of him. He will be in all your 
thoughts, especially in moments of retirement and 
meditation. You will often speak of him to others, 
especially those with whom you are intimate, and who 
are also friends of the beloved absent one ; " for out 
of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." 1 
You will be pained to hear him or his friends slan- 
dered, blasphemed, or abused ; or his cause and in- 
terests opposed or neglected ; and you will be always 
ready to defend him. You will be anxious to hear 
from him, and to commune with him by letter or oth- 
erwise, so that you can make known to him the 
thoughts and feelings of your heart. You will be anx- 
ious to be with him, to enjoy his company, and to see 
him as he is. Thus you know, and thus you give 
evidence to others, that you love your absent friend. 
Now Jesus is your absent friend ; apply the same 
tests, and you will at once ascertain whether you tru- 
ly love him or not. Do you often think of him and 
all that he has done, and is doing for you, with plea- 
sure and delight ? Do you often speak of him and his 
love to others, especially his friends, and thus show 
that your heart is full of the subject? Especially do 
you delight to commune with him by prayer, and in 
the ordinances of his house? O does your heart burn 

Mat. xii. 34. 
1* 



20 EVIDENCES OF LOVE TO THE REDEEMER. 

to meet him in your closet, at the social prayer-meet- 
ing, in his house, at the sacramental board, and where- 
ever he has appointed to dwell with his people? If 
not, you have no reason to believe that you love him, 
or possess true religion. 

But the Bible has not left us in the dark on this 
subject. " If ye love me, keep my commandments," 1 
saith the blessed Savior; and his beloved apostle 
John tells us, " This is the love of God, that we keep 
his commandments: and his commandments are not 
grievous." 2 Every true christian, therefore, will 
strive to keep God's commandments ; not from dread 
or slavish fear, or as a burdensome duty ; but out of 
love to Him. It will be his chief delight. He can- 
not be a wilful rebel. Like the child, who loves his 
parent, it will be his greatest pleasure to do his will, 
and he will be greatly pained and grieved when he 
falls into sin, or is betrayed into disobedience. 

Again; he that truly loves God, will also love his 
brethren, particularly all true christians. " For if any 
man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a 
liar : for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath 
seen, how can he love God, whom he hath not seen." 3 
And a by this," saith Jesus, " shall all men know that 
ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." 4 

He that loves God, must also feel deeply concern- 
ed for the salvation of souls and the extension of the 
Redeemer's kingdom. He cannot be an idle specta- 
tor, but will be an active, zealous laborer in the vine- 
yard of the Lord. The cause of God will lie near 

'John xiv. 15. ' 2 l John v. 3. : M John iv. 20. 4 John xiii. 35. 



CHANGE OF HEART NECESSARY. 21 

his heart, and he will not only pray, " Thy kingdom 
come ; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven ;" 
but he will also exert his influence and give of his 
substance that this prayer may be answered. In 
whatever sphere of life he may be called to act, 
he will always show by his conduct, that he loves 
God. 

Such are some of the principal evidences of love to 
God and vital piety. Kind reader ! do you possess 
any, or all of them, at least in some humble measure ? 
If not, it is idle for you to talk about religion ; you 
possess it not, whatever your professions and false 
hopes may be. You are yet in your sins, " without 
God, and without hope in the world." O if death 
overtake you in this sad and awful condition, you are 
undone forever. " Wherefore he saith, awake thou 
that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall 
give thee light." 1 It is very clear, from what has 
now been said, that in his natural unconverted state, 
no man possibly can truly love God or possess vital 
piety : u Because the carnal mind is enmity against 
God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither 
indeed can be." 2 Now all men's minds are by nature 
carnal ; all are rebels ; and therefore at enmity against 
God and his righteous government ; but such minds 
cannot love God supremely while this enmity re- 
mains ; hence they cannot be truly pious. The pic- 
ture which the Scriptures give us of the condition of 
the natural heart is most appalling and humiliating. 
Of the inhabitants of the old world it is said, u And 

'Eph. v. 14. 2 Rom. viii. 7. 



22 CHANGE OF HEART NECESSARY. 

God saw that the wickedness of man was great in 
the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts 
of his heart was only evil continually I" 1 EviL evil 
only, and evil continually ! Can such a heart love 
God, or be the seat of true piety ? Impossible ! Still 
more, " The heart is deceitful above all things, and 
desperately wicked; who can know it." 2 Deceit- 
fid above all things /" Now there are many deceit- 
ful things in this very deceitful world ; but nothing so 
much so as the human heart ! And the melancholy 
history of our race abundantly confirms the truth of 
this description. And to crown the whole, hear the 
Savior himself: "But those things which proceed 
out of the mouth come forth from the heart ; and they 
defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil 
thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, 
false-witnesses, blasphemies! These are the things 
which defile a man." 3 Can such hearts, we ask 
again, love God, or be fit temples for the indwelling 
of the Holy Ghost, without being regenerated? It 
cannot be. And yet thousands hope to be saved with- 
out a change of heart ; vainly imagining that their 
externally good conduct, their professions of religion, 
and their ceremonial attendance upon the worship of 
God's house will take them to heaven ! And many 
ministers of the gospel too, who are afraid of, and 
hate the very word revival, are content to freeze their 
people to death with frigid orthodoxy from year to 
year, but never inquire, nor seem to care, whether a 
single soul is converted or not! O that men would 

'Gen. vi. 5. 2 Jer. xvii. 9. 'Mat. xv. IS— 20. 



WHAT 19 A CHANGE OF HEART. 23 

awake to the eternal importance of the fact, so clear- 
ly and fully stated in the word of God, that without 
a change of heart, no man can possess true religion, 
or be saved ! All must be renewed in the spirit of 
their minds ; old things must pass away and all things 
must become new, or all pretences to religion are ut- 
terly vain. 

Since a change of heart is so important and indis- 
pensable, it may be proper, before concluding this 
chapter, to inquire briefly, what we are to understand 
by the Scriptural doctrine of conversion or regenera- 
tion ? 

The sacred scriptures employ a number of differ- 
ent words and phrases to designate this change ; some 
of which are always used to signify the entire w r ork 
and others are occasionally employed in a limited 
sense to denote a part of it. It is termed " creating a 
clean heart and renewing a right spirit" — repentance 
— conversion — being "born again" — being "renewed 
in the spirit of our minds" — " a new creature" — " old 
things passing away, and all things becoming new" — 
and the like. Thus David prays, " Create in me a 
clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within 
me." 1 Thus the Savior teaches, " Except ye repent^ 
ye shall all likewise perish." 2 " Verily I say unto 
you, except ye be converted, and become as little 
children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of hea- 
ven." 3 " Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man 
be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." 4 
Thus also the apostle teaches, " That ye put off, con- 

*Pb. li. 10. 2 Luke xiii. 3. 3 Mat xviii. 3. "John iii. 3. 



24 REV. WM. JAY ON THE NEW CREATURE. 

cerning the former conversation, the old man, which 
is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts : and be re- 
newed in the spirit of your mind ; and that ye put on 
the new man, which after God is created in righteous- 
ness and true holiness." 1 " For in Christ Jesus neith- 
er circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, 
but a new creature?"^ " Therefore if any man be in 
Christ, he is a new creature ; old things are passed 
away ; behold all things are become new." 3 

No candid inquirer after truth, can read such pas- 
sages as these, without being convinced that the 
change which they describe is a most thorough, im- 
portant, and indispensable work. We prefer giving 
our own views of the nature of this change in the lan- 
guage of several eminent christian writer's of the pre- 
sent day. Says the Rev. William Jay, 4 on the sub- 
ject of the new creature, u Four explanatory questions 
may be asked upon this subject. First. In what sense 
is a christian a new creature? Is it a physical or a 
moral one? It is only a moral one. New faculties 
are not given him ; but his faculties have new quali- 
ties and applications. Hence the original complex- 
ion, or constitutional peculiarity, remains ; and the 
man is seen even in the christian. His very religion 
takes a kind of hue from his natural character, whe- 
ther it be sanguine or phlegmatical, tending to severi- 
ty or mildness. And this is no inconsiderable proof 
of sincerity : for it is custom, it is formality, it is hy- 
pocrisy that produces sameness ; ihat constrains the 

'Eph. iv. 23—24. 2 Gal. vi. 15. s 2 Cor. v. 17. 

*Jay 1 9 Discourses and Prayers, page 29. 



NEW CREATURE. 25 

lively to revolt from cheerfulness; the talkative to 
keep silence ; and the young to look demurely, and 
speak and move with the gravity of old age. Had I 
known the individual turn and temper of Martha and 
Mary before our Lord entered their house, I should 
have viewed them as hypocrites had Mary acted as 
Martha did, or Martha acted as Mary did : but when 
I see the one " sitting at his feet," and the other 
" cumbered about much serving," I see a difference ; 
but it is principle, operating according to character. 
To proceed. The man, therefore, continues the same 
as before, and yet is a new creature. His soul, and 
all its powers are the same ; he has not another un- 
derstanding, another memory, another imagination, 
another genius ; but these are changed in their use, 
and sanctified. His body is the same and all its senses : 
grace does not give him another tongue or other eyes, 
and ears; but they are now sacred to new purposes. 
His condition is the same ; he is not another husband, 
another father, another master ; but he is a different 
one : he is godly in each of these relations. He car- 
ries on the same business (if it is a righteous one) but 
now he abides with God in his calling. He eats and 
drinks as before : but now whether he eats or drinks, 
or whatever he does, he does all to the glory of God. 
If the covetous become liberal, the proud humble and 
the prayerless devout : they are new creatures as to 
religious purposes— and this is the subject in question. 
Compare Paul after his conversion with Paul before 
his conversion : his body and soul, his learning and 
abilities, and the ardor of his disposition, continued 



26 NEW CREATURE. 

the same ; and yet, was there ever a being so differ- 
ent? 

Secondly. How far does this change extend? The 
reason of this question is obvious ; it is to keep per- 
sons from resting in things, which, though good in 
themselves, come short of it. A man may be bap- 
tised and not regenerated. A new creed, or a new 
denomination, does not make a man a new creature. 
It is pleasing to see a man reformed externally ; but 
he may abandon a course of profligacy, and live so- 
berly and righteously, and yet not live godly in the 
present world. The new creature is not a change 
from vicious to virtuous only ; but from natural to 
spiritual, from earthly to heavenly, from walking by 
sight to walking by faith. To go still farther : a man 
may be convinced and not converted; he may be 
alarmed and not have the fear of God in his heart ; 
he may receive the word with joy and be a stranger 
to the comforts of the Holy Ghost. Let us hear 
Paul. " If any man be in Christ, he is a new crea- 
ture : old things are passed away ; behold^ all things 
are become new." 

His conceptions are new. His views of himself 
are changed. He discovers that he is a guilty crea- 
ture, and deserves to perish ; that he is a depraved 
creature, and that his heart is infinitely worse than 
his life ; wherefore he abhors himself, and repents in 
dust and ashes f nor does he ever again recover those 
lofty thoughts of himself he once had. His views of 
the Savior are changed. He once neglected or de- 
spised him : but now he cries, How great is his good- 



NEW CREATURE. 27 

ness, and how great is his beauty ! and deems only 
those happy, who enjoy and serve him. His desires 
are new. He no longer asks, " Who will show us 
any good ?" but he hungers and thirsts after righteous- 
ness. "Yea, doubtless," says he, " and I count all 
things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge 
of Christ Jesus my Lord. That I may win Christ 
and be found in him, not having mine own righteous- 
ness, which is of the law, but that which is through 
the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of 
God by faith : that I may know him and the power of 
his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, 
being made conformable unto his death." These are 
the desires of the new creature. 

His pleasures are new. The pleasures of sin he 
abhors. The dissipation of the world he despises ; 
but it is his meat to do the will of his heavenly Fath- 
er. He calls the Sabbath a delight. He is glad, 
when they say unto him, Let us go into the house of 
the Lord. He finds his word and eats it, and it is 
unto him the joy and rejoicing of his heart. 

His pains are new. He once felt the sorrow of 
the world that worketh death ; but he now under- 
stands that godly sorrow, which worketh repentance 
unto life. He is not insensible under the afflictions of 
life ; but says he, What is every other loss, to the 
loss of the soul? O this evil heart of unbelief! 
O this ingratitude towards the God of my mercy ! 
O this unprofitableness under the means of grace ! 
O this insensibility under the corrections of his Pro- 
vidence ? " O wretched man that I am, who shall de- 



28 NEW CREATURE. 

liver me from the body of this death !" These are 
the groans of the new creature. 

His life is new. Ins implicity and godly sincerity, 
not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, he 
now has his conversation in the world. How shall he 
that is dead to sin, live any longer therein ? If he 
was not vicious before, he now abhors, from disposi- 
tion, what he once only shunned from selfish motives', 
if moral before, his morality is now evangelized ; and 
whatsoever he does " in word or deed, he does all in 
the name of the Lord Jesus." — After all this is only 
a specimen: the proposition is universal in its refer- 
ence : " old things are passed away ; behold, all things 
are become new !" " 

Thus far Mr. Jay. The other two questions asked 
and answered by him on this subject are not material 
to the point now before us, — the nature of a cliange 
of heart — and hence we have not included them in 
our quotation. 

We cannot forbear, however, to introduce another 
extract here, from an eminent living theological wri- 
ter, 1 whose logical and lucid exhibition of this very 
interesting and important subject pleases us better, 
than any thing we have yet seen. He explains regen- 
eration or a change of heart as consisting of the fol- 
lowing five parts, or progressive steps : viz. the Call 
or vocation, Illumination, Conviction, Penitence, and 
Faith; to which he adds a sixth, sanctification, not as 
a part of conversion, but as a work subsequent upon 

l See Dr. S. S. Schmucker's Popular Theology, pages 166, 
167 etc. 



CALL OR VOCATION. 29 

it — the progressive growth in grace and increase in 
holiness of the faithful believer to the end of his life. 

" 1. The call or vocation,"* says he, " is that invita- 
tion given to man by God, either mediately or imme- 
diately, to forsake his. evil ways and accept the offers 
of mercy. The immediate call, is that which is given 
miraculously, of which the case of Paul is an exam- 
ple. The mediate, or ordinary call, is that invitation 
to reformation which God gives us through his word, 
the external circumstances of our situation, and the 
incidents of his Providence. This is the only call 
which men can now expect, it is given with equal 
sincerity to all who live in a gospel land, and brings 
salvation within the reach of all, by tendering to them 
those means of grace which they have the ability to 
use with sincerity, and the sincere use of which, the 
Holy Spirit will sooner or later make effectual to the 
conversion of the soul. 

This view of the call manifestly pre-supposes the 
acknowledged doctrines of the church, that man if 
left to himself, neither would nor could turn to God ; 
and that the means of grace, though wisely adapted 
to the end for which they were designed, are not able 
to convert the soul, without the additional influence of 
the Holy Spirit. 

2. Illumination is that mediate act of God, by 
which, through the instrumentality of the means of 
grace, he imparts to the inquiring sinner correct and 
spiritual views of divine things. No one, who per- 
severingly and entirely disregards the call of God, 
ever becomes the subject of illumination. Because 



30 CONVICTION. 

this disregard includes in it the refusal to use the means 
of grace prescribed in scripture, through which alone 
the Holy Spirit illuminates the mind. On the other 
hand if the sinner give heed to the call of God, to at- 
tend to the things pertaining to his peace; that is, if he 
sincerely search the scriptures, inquiring, " Lord what 
wilt thou have me to do," and earnestly striving to 
conform to the w 7 ill of God ; he will find his views of 
divine things remarkably changed. His ideas of the 
moral excellence, especially the holiness and benevo- 
lence of God, of the extent, spirituality and justice 
of the divine law, of the evil of sin in general, and 
of his own sinfulness in particular, will become vast- 
ly more clear, correct, and practical. This state of 
the sinner's mind is also sometimes termed a state of 
illumination. 

3. But this change of vieics, which is the first effect 
of divine illumination, will be accompanied by anoth- 
er and equally striking alteration in the state of his 
feelings. Viewed in this clearer and more spiritual 
light, the moral excellence of the divine character 
excites in the illuminated sinner, feelings of love and 
adoration; the law in all its extent and spirituality 
appears just, salutary and lovely ; whilst the depth of 
his own depravity, the multitude and aggravation of 
his own sins, and his liability to the just displeasure 
of God, excite in him new feelings of remorse, sor- 
row and fear. These two effects of divine illumina- 
tion are produced in a more or less gradual manner, 
and usually keep pace with each other. Sometimes 
both these effects are designated by the term convic- 



PENITENCE Ofe REPENTANCE. 31 

ffon, whilst at others, this name is applied only to the 
changed views of the sinner, whilst his new feelings 
are denominated penitence, or repentance in its limited 
sense. 

Conviction, in the popular sense of the term, may 
therefore be -defined to he the new and spiritual views 
of the awakened sinner, concerning his own sinful- 
ness and exposure to the wrath of God, together with 
feelings of deep concern for his salvation, 

4. Penitence, or repentance in its more limited sense, 
signifies those feelings of sorrow and remorse, excit- 
ed in the mind of an (awakened) illuminated sinner by 
a consideration of his sinfulness and danger. 

These feelings are different in degree according to 
the natural temperament of the individual, or his de- 
gree of religious knowledge, or the degree of his ac- 
tual guilt. When this sorrow arises merely from a 
consideration of our danger, our liability to the divine 
wrath, it is termed, 

a.) Legal repentance, and has nothing truly noble 
or hopeful in it. It is the same feeling which the im- 
penitent robber often has when he anticipates the 
speedy execution of the penalty of the law upon him. 

But when these feelings of remorse originate from 
a conviction of our sinfulness, of the turpitude of our 
conduct in sinning against so good a God, against our 
nearest and best friend, our constant benefactor, they 
are termed, 

h.) Evangelical repentance, and belong to the no- 
blest and most hopeful exercises of the awakened 
mind. They imply a perception of the intrinsic odi- 
2 



32 FAITH. SAVING FAITH. 

ousness of our sins, of the beauty of holiness, of the 
justice of our condemnation, of the spirituality ana 
excellence of the divine law, and a preparation of 
heart to understand and appreciate the plan of salva- 
tion generally. 

5. Faith. Justifying faith is that voluntary act of 
the illuminated and evangelically penitent sinner, by 
which he confides in the mercy of God through Christ 
for salvation, on the terms offered in the gospel. 

a.) It is a voluntary acf, and therefore we find if 
commanded as a duty. 

b.) It can be properly performed only by the illu- 
minated and truly penitent; because the blind and un- 
repenting sinner neither sees his necessity of a Savior,, 
nor feels a willingness to conform his heart and life to 
the requisitions of the gospel. His faith, if he have 
any, is merely a historical belief of conclusive evi- 
dence, such as may be possessed by immoral men ? 
and even by the devils themselves. The repentance 
requisite must, moreover, be of the evangelical kind. 
His heart must be deeply affected by the moral excel- 
lence of the divine character and his own sinfulness, 
and thus it is that " with the heart man believeth unto 
righteousness^" 

c.) Its exact nature is that of confidence, trust or re- 
liance on God, and is similar to the confidence of a 
child in an affectionate parent, of one friend in the 
known character of another. It includes 1) a know- 
ledge or belief of the character of God, and especi- 
ally of the Savior as deserving of our confidence ; 
2) feelings of approbation and delight in this charac- 




SANCTIFICATION. 



ter, especially as developed in the gospel plan of sal- 
vation, and 3) a volition to accept the offers of mercy 
on the terms proposed, that is, to act in accordance 
with this belief and feeling. 

d.) Saving faith is accompanied by good works, by 
a life of holiness. No man can be sincere in his pro- 
fessed reliance on the Savior, who crucifies him 
afresh by voluntary sins. 

e.) u Faith is the gift of God ;" because it is he 
who calls, enlightens, and convicts us, and enables us 
to repent of our sins; without any one of which pre- 
vious steps, justifying faith is impossible ; because he 
affords us that knowledge of his own character and 
the plan of salvation, in view of which alone we can 
confide in him : and because, at this, as well as every 
other stage of our progressive moral improvement, he 
never fails to superadd the blessing of his Spirit to 
the faithful use of the means of grace. 

6. Sanctijication is a progressive conformity to the 
divine law and an increasing ability to fulfill its requi- 
sitions, wrought in the faithful believer by the Spirit 
of God, through the means of grace. 

a.) It is the work of God's Holy Spirit; as we are 
abundantly taught in the sacred volume: "Being sanc- 
tified by the Holy Ghost." 1 That same divine influ- 
ence, which was necessary at every previous stage of 
this moral reformation, is no less indispensable here. 

b.) It is effected through the means of grace. The 
word, the sacraments and all other means of grace, 
together with the dispensations of his providence both 



'Rom. xv. 16, 1 Thess. v. 23. 



84 SANC'TIFICATION PROGRESSIVE. 

prosperous and adverse, are the principal instruments^ 
by which the Parent of good advances the sanctifica- 
tion of the returning sinner. 1 Whilst the believer is 
living in the conscientious use of these means, and is 
thus pursuing the path of duty, the benign and trans- 
forming influence of the God of holiness is poured 
down upon him from on high. 

c.) The faithful believer alone can be the subject 
of progressive change. Sanctification is the work of 
the Holy Spirit wrought through the means of grace; 
but so soon as the believer becomes unfaithful to his 
God, he both neglects those means and grieves away 
that Spirit, and therefore inevitably interrupts this 
glorious work. Sanctification, moreover, consists in 
an increase of holy habits in the soul ; and the strength 
of these habits is augmented or diminished by every 
individual act. To maintain, therefore, that sancti- 
fication is invariably progressive in the believer, even 
when he relapses into sin, amounts to the repulsive 
position that acts of sin confirm our holy habits. 

That the co-operation of the sinner, by the faithful 
use of the means of grace, is essentially necessary to 
the progress of this work, is also clearly taught in 
Scripture ; where sanctification itself is, in this sense, 
even represented as the work of the believer himself. 
" Dearly beloved," says Paul, to the Corinthians, 
" let us demise ourselves from all filthiness of the 
flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of the 
Lord." 2 

'John xvii. 17, Rom. ii. 4, Heb. xii. 6, 10. 

2 2 Cor. vii. 1, Rom. xii. 1, Heb. xii. 1, Ep. iv. 22, &c. 




SANCTIFICATION PROGRESSIVE. 35 

d.) This gracious chmge itself, as witnessed in the 
believer, consists in increasing conformity to the law 
of God and ability to fulfill its requisitions. The be- 
liever's knowledge of God and divine things, is ex- 
panded by the habitual study of revealed truth ; is 
corrected by being brought into contact with the in- 
fallible word ; is rendered more spiritual and vivid 
by the vouchsafed influence of the Holy Spirit. Col. 
i. 9. His feelings on the grand subject of salvation, 
on the character and interests of the Redeemer's 
kingdom, become more ardent and intense. No sub- 
ject lies nearer to his heart than the glory of his God, 
his own eternal welfare, and that of his fellow-men. 
The Savior acquires increasing preciousness to his 
soul, he perceives in him the chief among ten thou- 
sands, one altogether lovely, and as the heart panteth 
after the water brook, so does his soul long for God. 
Accordingly the tenor of all his actions too, evinces 
an increasing conformity to the divine law. His de- 
termination to live for eternity and God, acquires 
increasing strength and regularity, whilst he labors 
to lay aside every wsight, and the sin that doth most 
easily beset him, and run with alacrity the race set 
before him. But as he advances in this process, he 
also finds his strength increasing. Before his clearer 
vision of eternal and divine things, the toys and 
baubles of this world dwindle into insignificance, 
and comparatively lose their tempting power. He 
finds himself strengthened with might in the inner 
man, and from a new born babe is gradually growing 
up to the measure of the stature of a perfect man in 
Christ." 



36 SANCTIFICATION PROGRESSIVE. 

Such, dear reader, is a change of heart, and such 
is true religion; have you obtained, and do you now 
possess it ? O that the Lord may search and try your 
heart ! that you may have no rest or satisfaction until 
you know from blessed experience, what it is to be 
" born again." 



CHAPTER II. 

WHAT IS A GENUINE REVIVAL OF RELIGION, CON- 
SIDERED NEGATIVELY? 

Having shown the nature of true religion, we are 
mow prepared for the question, what is a genuine revi- 
val? To this we might reply in general terms, a re- 
wival is the increase and more extensive diffusion of 
ivital piety. Wherever and whenever there is an in- 
crease and more solemn attention to religion; when 
the love, faith, and zeal of professed christians is 
•aroused to greater strength, vigor, and activity; when 
M.he veil is torn away from the eyes of hypocrites 
and formalists, and they begin t© tremble for their 
■souls ; when backsliders are reclaimed., and brought 
•to do their u first works over again ;" when careless 
dinners are awakened out ©f their fatal sleep of sin 
and death, and begin to cry out, " Men and brethren 
what shall we do?" — when we behold such a state 
fof things, we need not hesitate to call it a revival of 
religion. But we must be more specific, and there- 
fore shall endeavor to answer the question first nega- 
gively, or show what a genuine revival of religion is 
not. 

First. A genuine revival of religion is not the work 
iof man, but of God^s Holy Spirit. Some open and 
avowed enemies ef revivals have endeavored to ex- 
cuse their conduct by declaring their convietion that 
0M such scenes are the work of men, and that the Holy 



38 REVIVALS THE WORK OF GOD^S SPIRIT. 

Spirit is not in any sense the producing- cause of the* 
excitement. Now to this objection we reply, that if 
it were true, it would prove too much, and therefore 
proves- nothing at all. It would prove that all experi- 
mental religion is the work of man, for it is always 
accompanied, even in individual cases, by the same 
kind of excitement, which exists in a< revival. The 
experience of persons converted daring a revival is 
precisely the same in its main features as that of those 
converted under any other circumstances. The awa- 
kening, the penitence, the sorrow for sin r the faith, 
and the peace and pardon obtained are precisely the 
same. Hence if it is the work of man in the one 
case, it must be soothe other; But we suppose the 
persons who make this objection would net contend 
that the conversion or regeneration of the soul is the 
work of man; but if it be not his work in an indi- 
vidual case, how can it be where numbers are simul- 
taneously renewed? If ' it be beyond the power of 
man to make a single person " a new creature ;" to* 
regenerate one sou}, giving it new,, holy, and spiritual 
views, feelings, desires and habits; is it possible for 
him to effect this in the case of scores and hundreds 
of souls at the same time ?. But that real conver- 
sions do take place at revivals is beyond dispute.. 
Thousands of the most pious, intelligent, active, and 
exemplary christians that have ever adorned tho 
American churches, were converted during seasons of 
revival. Genuine revivals are therefore not the work 
of men; but of that Divine Spirit, who alone posses- 
ses the power to change and renew the stubborn and 
flinty heart. 



DR. ALEXANDER QUOTED. 39 

This argument is not influenced in the least by the 
admitted fact, that some cases of supposed conversion 
at revivals are afterwards proved to have been spuri- 
ous, by the conduct of the individuals. It only shows 
that the persons themselves were either deceived or 
acted the hypocrite. And the records of the churches, 
which have been blessed with genuine and well-con- 
ducted revivals, show, that there are comparatively 
not more cases of falling away from among those who 
professed conversion during those seasons, than are 
found among those who make such professions under 
other circumstances. 

We are however by no means to be understood as 
endorsing every thing which has passed under the name 
of revivals. Far from it. We are not the advocate 
nor friend of mere spurious excitements in religion. 
We agree with Dr. Alexander 1 of Princeton, "that 
a revival or religious excitement ma}^ exist, and be 
very powerful, and affect many minds, when the pro- 
ducing cause is not the Spirit of God; and when the 
truth of God is not the means of the awakening. 
This we must believe," continues he, " unless we 
adopt the opinion that the Holy Spirit accompanies 
error by his operations as well as truth, which would 
be blasphemous. Religious excitements have been 
common among Pagans, Mahommedans, heretics and 
Papists. And in our own time there have been great 
religious excitements among those who reject the fun- 
damental doctrines of the gospel, as for example, 
among the Christ-ians, who are Unitarians, and the 

'Sprague on Revivals, page 229. 



40 GENUINE REVIVALS THE WORK OF GOD. 

New-lights or Schismatics of the west, and the Camp- 
bellites, who deny the proper divinity of our Lord, 
and the scriptural doctrine of atonement. The whole 
religion of the Shakers also, consists in enthusiastic 
excitement. Hence it is evident, that revivals ought 
to be distinguished into such as are genuine, and such 
as are spurious. And the distinction should depend 
on the doctrines inculcated, on the measures adopted, 
and the fruits produced. " Beloved," says the Apos- 
tle John, " believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, 
whether they be of God." 

That such spurious excitements do sometimes exist 
even among professed christians and are called revi- 
vals we admit. Nay, that even in a genuine work of 
grace, there is sometimes much mere animal excite- 
ment, we also admit. Men may so interfere with the 
work of God as to grieve away the Holy Spirit, and 
cause it to degenerate into wild fanaticism. But this 
does not prove genuine revivals to be the work of 
man ; nor does it form a valid objection to them. 
Tares will grow among the wheat; shall we therefore 
refuse to sow wheat altogether, or condemn both and 
bind them in the same bundles to be burned ? 

The Bible speaks of revivals of religion as em- 
phatically the work of God. Hence David prays, 
" Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people may 
rejoice in thee." Ps. lxxxv. 6. The prophet Habak- 
kuk also believed God to be the author of revivals : 
M O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, 
in the midst of the years make known ; in wrath re- 
member mercy," was his fervent prayer. Hab, iii, 2. 



MfeN CANNOT PRODUCE REVIVALS AT PLEASURE. 41 

No one will say that the great revival on the day of 
Pentecost, when three thousand were converted, was 
the work of man. Thousands of other revivals have 
occurred in different ages of the church which have 
given proof equally decisive of their divine origin. 
Any person therefore, who in the present day con- 
tends that genuine revivals are the work of men 
merely, is either ignorant of their true nature and so 
prejudice^ that he cannot see the truth, or he must be 
an infidei In neither case is his opinion worth a se- 
rious refutation. But if genuine revivals are the 
work of God's Holy Spirit, then there are two very 
important deductions which we must be permitted to 
make from this established fact. The first is, that if 
they are not the work of man, but of the Holy Ghost, 
it follows that no man or set of men can produce re- 
vivals. If it belongs to God to revive his church, 
as it does to revive nature, then men no more can 
bring about revivals of religion at pleasure than they 
can of the seasons ; no more than they can produce 
spring in autumn or harvest in the midst of winter. 
Consequently it is presumptuous and sinful for men to 
talk about " getting up a revival," just as though it 
depended upon their sovereign pleasure ! Such lan- 
guage, if used to signify, what it really means, is an 
insult to God, and shows a state of mind utterly at 
variance with that faith and humility, which looks up 
to him and depends upon him for u every good and 
perfect gift," as well the blessing of a revival as all 
Other blessings. 

We are not, however, to be understood as saying, 



42 0PP0SER3 OF REVIVALS FIGHTING AGAINST GOD. 

that in revivals God works without means ; or that he 
does not employ human instrumentality to produce or 
promote them. On the contrary, it is by the faithful 
preaching of the gospel, prayer, the ordinances of 
the church, and all other scriptural and proper meas- 
ures, that God converts sinners and revives his work. 
And the man who would expect a revival without, 
properly and faithfully using the means which God 
has appointed and will bless, would be acting as in- 
consistently and foolishly, as he who would expect a 
plentiful harvest without ploughing his field or sowing 
his seed. Still the work is God's, and men are only 
instruments in his hands for its accomplishment. We 
must preach, pray, and labor " in season and out of 
season ;" but God must make our exertions effica- 
cious. We must plant and water ; but God alone can 
give the increase. We must feel our dependence 
upon God, and remember that he alone can perform 
the work ; and yet must so labor and pray and use 
the means as if the whole work were ours, and we 
alone could do it. 

Our second inference from this subject is, that if a 
genuine revival of religion be the work of the Holy 
Spirit, it follows that all opposers of revivals are fight- 
ing against God himself! This is an unavoidable but 
most solemn conclusion, and one should suppose need- 
ed only to be stated, to cause every opposer of the 
work of God to tremble. And yet, (we blush to re- 
cord it !) some professed christians, and even christian 
ministers affect to sneer at the very name of revival ! — 
Seem to imagine that they are doing God a service by 



REVIVALS NOT SCENES OF DISORDER. 43 

opposing his own work ! — Do really stand in the gate- 
way of heaven, refusing to enter in themselves, and hin- 
dering those who are striving to press into the king- 
dom ! Will not the blood of souls be found in the 
skirts of such men ? May the Lord save the reader 
from the fearful account which the opposers of revi- 
vals will have to render at the last day ! God has 
most gloriously vindicated revivals of religion^ and 
proven to the world, that they are a grand and chosen 
means which he employs to multiply the triumphs of 
his grace, to build up and extend his church, and to 
gather lost sinners into his fold; and wo be to that 
man who is wicked enough to oppose him in this 
work ! 

Secondly. Jl genuine revival of religion is not a 
scene of ivild confusion and disorder of mere animal 
excitement. This cannot be if, as has been shown, it 
be a genuine work of the Holy Spirit ; for " God is 
not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all 
churches of the saints." 1 Cor. xiv. 33. 

There are two classes of persons, the one enemies, 
and the other professed friends, in whose minds reli- 
gious revivals are always associated with scenes of 
the most enthusiastic excitement, and the utmost con- 
fusion and disorder. They imagine that such scenes 
constitute revivals, or that they are at least insepara- 
bly connected with them. 

The first of these classes are opposed to revivals 
on the ground of the disorder and confusion attending 
them. They have probably never witnessed any 
well-conducted revivals, nor given themselves time to 



44 WILL BE EXCITEMENT AT REVIVALS. 

examine their nature and good fruits. They have not 
therefore been able to distinguish between a mere ex- 
citement, and a genuine work of God's Spirit. They 
are of course incompetent judges, and in their unquali- 
fied condemnation of all revivals, act a very inconsis- 
tent and sinful part. If we had any hope of gaining 
the attention of such persons, we should like to rea- 
son the case with them, and endeavor to convince 
them of their error. We could tell them from our 
own experience, and that of all the ablest and most 
successful promoters and advocates of genuine revi- 
vals, that they are not scenes of mere animal excite- 
ment and wild confusion. But as most persons of this 
class are ignorant of true revivals, and are acting un- 
der the influence of strong prejudice, we have little 
expectation of obtaining even a candid hearing from 
them. We shall therefore proceed with our subject, 
and remark that there is of course excitement in a re- 
vival of religion; the very name implies it. Religion 
is itself a very exciting subject, and there cannot be 
true piety in the soul, much less a revival, without ex- 
citement. 

Man, in his present state, is a compound being, con- 
sisting of soul and body, of intellect and passions; 
and as such religion is addressed to him. It does not 
change or destroy his natural character, his physical 
constitution : but it takes him as he is and seeks to 
govern both his head and his heart, his intellect and 
his passions. To suppose therefore that in religion, 
and especially a revival, men should manifest no 
feeling, no excitement of mind is to make them, 



TRUE RELIGION NOT PURELY INTELLECTUAL. 45 

what they are not, purely intellectual beings; is to 
deprive them of half their nature. A purely intel- 
lectual religion, for men in this world, is entirely un- 
suited to their present condition and wants, and can 
never exert any permanent influence upon the mass of 
mankind. It must ever remain heartless, comfort- 
less, and frigid as the atmosphere of Greenland. — 
It may suit the atheistic philosopher, or the panthe- 
istic neologist ; but it is not the religion of the Bi- 
ble, which is to heal the woes, dry up the tears, 
pluck the thorns out of the path and light up the star 
of hope in the benighted souls of earth's afflicted 
children. Men are in this world the creatures of 
want, of sorrows, feelings and sympathies, and God 
has given them a religion suited to their wants, adapt- 
ed to their nature, and designed to go with them into 
all the relations of life, and to smoothe their pilgrim- 
age to the skies. It is to work a most wonderful 
change in their views, feelings, desires and actions, 
and yet leave the natural temperament and constitu- 
tion the same. It is to make the proud humble, the 
revengeful forgiving, the vicious moral, the covetous 
liberal, the profane prayerful, the careless devout, and 
the wicked pious. It is to direct man in his business, 
to comfort him in his sorrows, to support him in sick- 
ness and death, and to qualify him for heaven and 
bring him thither at last. And shall all this be ac- 
complished without feeling or excitement ? Is man 
eminently the creature of feelings and excitement of 
the passions, and yet must he manifest nothing of the 
kind in his religion ! Do you find it impossible to in- 



46 MEN^S feelings MUST BE ENLISTED. 

terest him deeply and permanently in any subject 
without enlisting his feelings and moving his heart; 
and yet must this not be done in religion ? Religion ! 
the subjeet above all others, in which all his dearest 
interests for time and eternity are centered. Look at 
the men of this world, the politician, the statesman, 
the stage actor, how do they succeed in interesting 
their fellow-men, and moving them to the most vigor- 
ous action ? Is it not bv interesting their feelings and 
exciting their passions? Could they ever succeed 
without this ? Has not our country frequently been 
convulsed from one extremity to the other by some 
political question of confessedly little importance, on- 
ly because the feelings of men were greatly excited? 
The fact is, you cannot interest men effectually and 
permanently in any subject, good or bad, or move 
them to decided and vigorous action, unless their feel- 
ings are strongly enlisted. On this depends your suc- 
cess in the cause of Internal Improvement, Education, 
Temperance, Missions, Sabbath-schools, and Bible and 
Tract operations. Will any man now be so stupid as to 
maintain that in religion and especially a revival of it, 
there must be no feeling, no excitement at. all ? Shall 
there be weeping and wailing, tears and lamentations 
around the bed of sickness and death; at a funeral, 
around the grave of a departed friend or relative, 
feeling and deep excitement upon all occasions and on 
every subject in which man is especially interested ; 
and nothing of the kind in religion? 

" Religion ! — the chief concern 
Of mortals here below." 



AWAKENED SINNERS WILL BE EXCITED. 47 

Religion ! the most important subject that can possi- 
bly claim the attention of man this side of eternity ; 
and upon which his everlasting destiny depends ! 
There is to be no feeling, no excitement on this sub- 
ject. Shall there be deep, pungent, overwhelming 
conviction of sin; an aching, melting, breaking of 
heart — of hundreds of hearts at the same time — and 
no excitement? Shall men be pressed to the earth 
under the load of their guilt; writhe in agony beneath 
the lashes of an awakened conscience; and amid tears 
of the most deep, sincere, and humble penitence, cry 
earnestly for mercy, and what they must do to be 
saved ? — Shall scores and hundreds do this at the same 
time, and must there be no feeling, no excitement?? 
Surely such a doctrine is most unnatural and absurd, 
and the man who maintains it has yet to learn his first 
lesson both in human nature and true religion. 

But whilst it is most evident from the nature of 
man and of true religion that it is a heart-stirring sub- 
ject, and that there must and will be deep and pow- 
erful excitement in a revival, it is also true that it is 
not a mere animal excitement — it is not a scene of 
wild confusion and disorder. We have already stated 
that such scenes have sometimes passed for revivals, 
where there was really no true religion at all; and 
that genuine revivals have sometimes been so mis- 
managed as to degenerate into the most rank fanati- 
cism. But these are abuses of a good thing; and 
genuine revivals are no more responsible for these 
abuses, or to be confounded with them than the pure 
and legal coin is responsible for, or to be confounded 
with a spurious counterfeit issue. 



48- MEN LOVE WARMTH AND ZEAL. 

But why be so fastidious about excitement in con- 
nexion with revivals; why so much opposed to it, so 
much afraid of it here, when you act so differently in 
other matters? Do not men love warmth, zeal, ex- 
citement on any subject in which they may feel inter- 
ested, and seek to produce them for the purpose of 
promoting it? are not frequently the very men, who 
cry out most against excitement in religion, the first 
and loudest to foment it during a political campaign 
or an election ? We have known men to be dread- 
fully shocked and offended at the excitement of a re- 
vival, who could enter into that of a horse-race or a 
ball-room with the utmost spirit ! Men are sometimes 
greatly displeased when their familes become inter- 
ested in the blessed scenes of a revival and attend the 
evening meetings for prayer and inquiry, when at the 
same time they can spend a good part or even the 
whole night with them amid all the excitement and 
demoralizing influence of a ball-room without any 
qualms of conscience! The fact is that the opposi- 
tion to revivals is opposition to religion. It is the 
natural enmity of the unconverted heart to God and 
his cause. 

But what says the Bible on this subject ? " To the 
law and the testimony,*' for here this and every other 
important question connected with religion must be 
decided. If a single plain and unequivocal passage 
can be produced, in which all rational and intelligent 
excitement, such as is witnessed in well-conducted re- 
vivals, is condemned ; then we will give up the argu- 
ment, and say, " it is all wild fire," mere animal ex- 



ENCOURAGES THE UTMOST ARDOR. 49 

citement. But no such passage can be found. On 
the contrary, the word of God encourages and insists 
upon the utmost warmth, zeal, energy, and excite- 
ment, of the proper kind in religion. " The Bible," 
says an intelligent writer, 1 " never speaks of our go- 
ing too far, or feeling too intensely, in religion ; but 
it often speaks of our falling short, and urges us to 
greater engagedness — provided always that our zeal 
be according to knowledge. It does indeed guard us 
against false fervors and erratic zeal; it apprizes of 
false prophets and of many of them ; it warns us of 
Satan's devices, and speaks of a spirit of truth, and 
a spirit of error, with their respective marks; it 
speaks of false philosophy, false doctrines, blind 
guides, wells without water, clouds without water 
carried about of winds, trees whose fruit withereth, 
raging w r aves of the sea, wandering stars, with many 
such things: and we cannot too much heed such ad- 
monitions. But with these safeguards and precautions, 
it inculcates the greatest intensity, both of feeling and 
interest in every duty concerned in religion and 
salvation. Oh how it reproves our coldness, how it 
chides our sloth, how it abhors our apathy ! Its lan- 
guage to the sinner is, strive, agonize, to enter in at 
the straight gate. Its language to the believer is, for- 
get the things which are behind, and reach forth unto 
those which are before. Its language to all is, seek 
first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and, 
Do with thy might what thy hand findeth to do. — 
There is no degree of intelligent engagedness in the 

"'Letters to a Disbeliever in Revivals," pages 28 — 30. 



50 BIBLE ADDRESSES MEN'S PASSIONS. 

business of religion, no fervor of enlightened zeal, 
no measure of compassion or concern for the impeni- 
tent, no depth of humility and godly sorrow, no con- 
fidence of faith, no liveliness of hope, or measure of 
rejoicing, or elevation above the world, which the 
Bible censures as excessive. On the contrary, it is 
filled with the most stirring exhortations and incite- 
ments to such affections and behavior." 

It should also be observed that the Bible addresses 
the feelings, the passions of men, and that many of 
its narratives and doctrines are calculated to produce 
the highest degree of intelligent excitement. How 
its account of the fall of man, and of his sinfulness 
and misery, is calculated to humble us? Its represen- 
tation of our guilt and danger, and the thunders of 
the broken law rolling over our heads, to alarm us? 
How its narratives of the fearful judgments which 
God has sent upon the wicked are fitted to excite our 
fears, and cause us to tremble in view of our own ex- 
posure to that wrath ? How its history of our re- 
demption ; of a Savior's humiliation, sufferings, and 
death; is adapted to melt and subdue our hearts? Its 
descriptions of the damnation and sufferings of the 
wicked are most awful: enough to alarm the most 
stoical. A lake that burnetii with fire and brimstone; 
a fire that is not quenched; weepings, wailings, and 
gnashing of teeth ; sufferings unmitigated and unend- 
ing, where the worm dieth not and the fire is not 
quenched — where the unhappy wretch is tormented 
day and night in those flames, and obtains not even 
the relief of a drop of water to cool his tongue ! 



ITS TRUTHS OF AN EXCITING NATURE. 51 

Are these not descriptions which the Bible gives us of 
the lost, and are they not of the most exciting char- 
acter, calculated to break and move a heart of stone,? 
Of the same exciting nature also are its descriptions 
of heaven and of the future bliss of the righteous. A 
rest which remaineth for the people of God — the 
Father's house, in which there are many mansions — 
the city which hath foundations, whose builder and 
maker is God — the new Jerusalem with all its splen- 
dor and glory — a being with Christ, seeing him as he 
is, and sitting down upon his throne, as he has sat 
down upon the Father's. Are such representations 
not in the highest degree soul stirring and exciting ? 
Are not the passions and feelings of man — his hopes 
and fears — most powerfully addressed ? Would God 
have done this, if he had intended that men should 
never be excited on the subject of religion. It is not 
true therefore that the excitement witnessed at genu- 
ine, well-conducted revivals, however intense and 
overwehmng, is mere animal feeling, the result of ar- 
tificial stimulus. It is just what we would expect that 
such truths as those stated above, and many others 
contained in the Bible, applied to the heart by the 
Holy Spirit would produce. 

" Examine revivals then by the Bible,'' continues 
the writer just quoted, " in reference to their quality 
and nature. What is there that is not according to 
the Scriptures, in the fact of a people becoming gen- 
erally and solemnly impressed with serious things, in 
their becoming thoughtful, prayerful, disposed to at- 
tend religious meetings, to read their Bibles, and to 



52 REVIVALS TESTED BY THE BIBLE. 

converse on religious subjects ; in their being less oc- 
cupied with the business and pleasures of the world, 
and more engaged about the salvation of the soul? 
What is there m their beins; exercised with convic- 
tions of sin, and asking what they must do to be saved ; 
in their being anxious, or dejected even, under a sense 
of their guilt and condemnation as sinners against 
G od ; or what if in some instances they literally smite 
upon their breasts, and say, u God be merciful to me 
a sinner," what, is there in their shedding tears of god- 
ly sorrow, in their having great peace in believing in 
Jesus ; in their shedding tears of joy ; in their hav- 
ing new apprehensions of diving things, and new dis- 
coveries of themselves ; in their lively hopes ; their 
love and gratitude to God; their new sense of his 
goodness and mercy, and new devotion to his cause ; 
in the tender endearment of Christians to each other; 
in their deep and practical concern for the impenitent; 
their many and earnest prayers ; their frequent assem- 
blies ; their lively and their plaintive hymns; their 
earnest and affectionate exhortations ; their hallowed 
sympathies with one another, and for anxious sinners — 
weeping with them that weep, and rejoicing with them 
that do rejoice : — what is there, I say, in these things, 
as to the nature of them, thai is not according to the 
Scriptures? What is there that is unlike religion — 
unlike its workings and fruits — unlike the things which 
attended the ministry of Jesus and his apostles ?" — 
Have not such seasons of deep interest and excitement 
in religion manifested themselves in every age of the 
world under the faithful preaching and labors of God's 



R1VIVALS RECORDED IN THE BIBLE. 53 

chosen servants ? — have they not appeared under the 
ministry of Elijah, Ezra, Nehemiah, of John the 
Baptist, Jesus Christ himself, and his holy Apostles 
and the primitive christians? Look at Elijah at 
Mount Carmel in controversy with the false prophets 
of Baal ! Was there no excitement, no feeling among 
the people when the cause of God triumphed, and the 
imposters were confounded and put to death? Look 
at the scene that occurred under the ministry of Ezra, 
when, after the return of the Jews from their Baby- 
lonish captivity, the foundation of the second temple 
was laid ! Was there no excitement when the people 
" sung together by course, in praising and giving 
thanks unto the Lord ; because he is good and his 
mercy endure th forever towards Israel ?" When " all 
the people shouteJ with a great shout when they 
praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house 
of the Lord was laid ?" Let any one read the third 
chapter of the book of Ezra, and he will find that 
some of the people shouted aloud, and others wept 
aloud, whilst many sang aloud the praises of God. 
We should say there must have been quite an excite- 
ment here! Look at John the Baptist standing upon 
the banks of the Jordan, and preaching " the baptism 
of repentance V We are told that there " went out 
unto him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region 
about Jordan, and were baptized of him in Jordan 
confessing their sins." Mat. iii. 5, G. What an ex- 
citement there must have been here ! Look at the 
Savior himself when preaching his sermon on the 
Mount, or when the multitudes came out to him at the 



54 SAVIOR HAD REVIVALS. 

well of Samaria — when be compared them to fields 
white unto the harvest, and (.hey besought him to abide 
with them, and he remained two days, and many be- 
lieved on him. What a stir, a revival there was among 
these people ! Indeed the Savior's whole ministerial 
life was one of intense excitement among the people. 
He held a " protracted meeting" of more than three 
years continuance! Held it on the Sabbath and during 
the week, by day and often by night ! Held it in the 
temple, the synagogue, the fields, among the moun- 
tains, in towns, and in the country. He did not con- 
fine himself to time or place or any fixed measures — 
seems to have employed " old and new measures" 
just as they might suit best and accomplish most good. 
He not only preached and prayed, but also conversed 
with the people, instructing the ignorant, comforting 
the mourner, and directing the anxious inquirer. Look 
also at some of the apostles of our Lord ! — at Peter, 
for instance, on the day of Pentecost, w T hen the 
greatest revival ever known occurred ; — that which 
founded the Christian church, and whose influence is 
felt to this day, and will continue to be felt throughout 
all eternity! What are the facts here? Why, that 
thousands under the influence of the truth and Spirit 
of God, are pierced to the heart at once, and cry out 
cc men and brethren what shall we do !" O what a 
tremendous excitement here ! — what vast multitudes 
came out as mourners, and were especially directed by 
the apostle Peter ! No doubt if some of our modern 
opposers had been there, they would have joined with 
those upon the spot, not only in condemning all this as 



REVIVALS RECORDED IN THE BIBLE. 55 

chosen servants? — have they not appeared under the 
ministry of Elijah, Ezra, Nehemiah, of John the 
Baptist, Jesus Christ himself, and his holy Apostles 
and the primitive christians? Look at Elijah at 
Mount Carmel in controversy with the false prophets 
of Baal ! Was there no excitement, no feeling among 
the people when the cause of God triumphed, and the 
impostors were confounded and put to death ? Look 
at the scene that occurred under the ministry of Ezra, 
when, after the return of the Jews from their Baby- 
lonish captivity, the foundation of the second temple 
was laid ! Was there no excitement when the people 
"sung together by course, in praising and giving 
thanks unto the Lord ; because he is good and his 
mercy endureth forever towards Israel ?" When " all 
the people shouted with a great shout when they 
praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house 
of the Lord was laid ?" Let any one read the third 
chapter of the Book of Ezra, and he will find that 
some of the people slwuted aloud, and others wept 
aloud, whilst many sang aloud the praises of God. 
We should say there must have been quite an excite- 
ment here ! Look at John the Baptist standing upon 
the banks of the Jordan, and preaching " the baptism 
of repentance !" We are told that there " went out 
unto him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region 
about Jordan, and were baptized of him in Jordan 
confessing their sins." Matt. iii. 5, 6. What an ex- 
citement there must have been here ! Look at the 
Savior himself when preaching his sermon on the 
Mount, or when the multitudes came out to him at the 



56 SAVIOR HAlf REVIVALS 

well of Samaria — -when he compared them to fields 
white unto the harvest, and they besought him to abide 
with them,, and he remained two days, and many be- 
lieved on him. What a stir, a revival there was among 
these people! Indeed Ihe Savior's- whole ministerial 
life was one of intense excitement among the people. 
He held a " protracted meeting'" of more than three 
years continuance ! Held it on the Sabbath and during 
the week, by day and often by night ! Held it in the 
temple, the synagogue, the fields, among the moun- 
tains, in towns and in the country. He did not con- 
fine himself to time or place or any fixed measures — 
seems to have employed ** old and new measures' 7 
just as they might suit best and accomplish most good.. 
He not only preached and prayed,, but also conversed 
with the people, instructing the ignorant, comforting 
the mourner, and directing the anxious inquirer. Look 
also at some of the apostles of our Lord ! — at Peter? 
for instance, on the day of Pentecost, when the 
greatest, revival ever known occurred ;- — that which 
founded the Christian church, and whose influence i» 
felt to this day, and will continue to be felt throughout 
all eternity ! What are the facts here ? Why that 
thousands under the influence of the truth and Spirit 
of God, are pierced to the heart art once and cry out 
" men and brethren what shall we do !" O what a 
tremendous excitement here [ — what vast multitudes 
came out as mourners, and were especially directed by 
the apostle Peter ! No doubt if some of our modern 
opposers had been there, they would have joined with 
those upon the spot, not only in condemning all this as 



ttOW MUCH EXCITEMENT IS ALLOWABLE ? 57 

animal excitement, but in crying out, " These men 
are full of new wine ! Look also at the religious 
history of Paul ! Was not almost his entire ministe- 
rial life one Uninterrupted scene of excitement and 
religious revivals ! Almost in every city and town 
to which he came, there was a great excitement, 
Some become converted, and some angry- — some loved 
him and clung to him, but others hated and most 
cruelly persecuted him. He was certainly a great 
revolutionizer, for he was instrumental in producing 
excitements, which agitated nearly the whole known 
world. 

Scores of similar facts might be adduced to show 
that there always has been excitement in connection 
with the revival and extension of true piety, and that 
none can exist without it. Will we still be told that 
revivals of religion are mere animal excitements ? 
Then we should like to know whether those recorded 
in the Scriptures, to which we have referred, were 
also mere animal excitements ! But the falsehood and 
absurdity of this objection to revivals is sufficiently 
apparent, and we shall pursue the argument no further. 
We shall no doubt be asked here whether there is not 
some animal excitement in every revival, and how 
much is allowable in a genuine work of grace ? To 
this we have only to reply, that if men were angels 
there would of course be no animal excitement in 
their devotions; but as long as they are men, there 
must ever be some ; and as long as there is not more 
of the animal in our religious excitements, than there 
was in those of the prophets, apostles and the Savior 



58 TEMPERAMENT OF INDIVIDUALS. 

himself we may well consider ourselves upon safe 
ground. The depth and character of the excitement 
will depend, in a great measure, upon the intellectual 
and moral character of the people among whom it 
exists, and the circumstances of the case. Where the 
community is highly intelligent and comparatively 
moral, there will be much less apparent excitement, 
than where there is and has been much wickedness 
and ignorance, though the work be equally, or even 
more extensive and powerful. The kind and amount 
of religious instruction which the people have had, 
will have a great influence. If they have enjoyed but 
little and very imperfect instruction in the principles 
of religion, have but a slight acquaintance with the 
doctrines of the Bible, and have been accustomed to 
noise, confusion, and disorder in the worship of God's 
house, there will be much more animal excitement 
among them in case of a revival, than among a people 
of superior privileges, and better training ; and among 
such people a work of grace will also be much more 
difficult to manage properly. 

The temperament of individuals also has much to do 
with the depth and extent of their excitement upon 
any subject. If the individual under conviction of sin, 
for instance, be of a sanguine temperament, be easily 
and deeply excitable upon any subject, he will mani- 
fest a much greater degree of feeling, than he of the 
opposite natural constitution, though his convictions 
and sorrow are perhaps in reality no deeper. This 
is accounted for upon the same principle, as that 
around the death-bed and funeral of a relative, one 



DISTINGUISH BETWEEN EXCITEMENT AND REVIVAL. 59 

person will be apparently much more deeply affected 
and weep more than another, though both may have 
been equally attached to the deceased, and may feel, 
with equal intensity and bitterness, the wound inflicted 
upon their breast by the stroke of death. All such, 
and any other circumstances that may be peculiar, 
must be well considered in' the management of a revi- 
val, and those conducting it must act accordingly- 
Among certain people, and under certain circumstan- 
ces, it might be impossible, and highly injudicious to 
attempt to suppress at once all, even what was mani- 
festly unnecessary, excitement. Men might be led to 
regard it as opposition to the revival itself, and thus a 
genuine work of divine grace, instead of being fostered 
and extended, might be hindered and destroyed. But 
among a different people, and under other circum- 
stances, it might greatly promote the good work to 
keep out of it all mere bodily exercise or excitement. 
Those therefore who conduct revivals need much of 
that wisdom which cometh from above, and which the 
Lord has promised in answer to persevering and be- 
lieving prayer. 

There is however another class of persons, as 
intimated upon a former page, besides opposers of 
revivals, in whose minds they are identified with 
scenes of wild confusion, disorder, and noise. We 
must now briefly pay our respects to these. 

The persons here referred to are professedly the 
most zealous and thorough-going, but certainly very 
injudicious, friend.s of revivals. They seem to think 
either that all revivals consist in " the bodily exercU 



60 GOD NOT THE AUTHOR OF CONFUSION. 

ses" of shouting, groaning-, clapping, and loud and 
vociferous praying and singing, or that they are at 
least inseparably connected with them ; and conse- 
quently according to their notions, the greater the 
noise and bodily excitement of this kind, the more 
extensive and powerful they suppose the work to be ! 
They could scarcely be made to helieve that there 
was a work of grace, where there was an absence of 
such scenes of confusion and noise. Now we have 
no reason to doubt that many such friends of revivals 
are very sincere and honest in their attachment to the 
cause of God and their efforts to promote it, but they 
have certainly entirely misapprehended the spirit of 
true piety, and the nature of a genuine work of grace. 
We beg their candid attention, whilst in a calm and 
dispassionate manner we endeavor to reason the case 
with them. 

Brethren ! the subject is one of most serious and 
solemn import, and we beseech you to give it a pray- 
erful examination. You claim revivals to be the work 
of God's Holy Spirit, do you not? If they are not, 
then they surely cannot be genuine, and ought to be 
opposed by every Christian. Now does not God tell 
us unequivocally, " that he is not the author of con- 
fusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints ?" 
1 Cor. xiv. S3. Does he not bid us, " Let all things 
be done decently and in order ? But if our revivals 
be scenes of confusion and disorder, can they be of 
God ? Even if the work in the commencement was 
genuine, will not its beauty and glory be greatly marred, 
if not entirely destroyed by the raging of this wild- 



CONFUSION ALWAYS WRONG. 61 

lire? Nay brethren, you are mistaken. The noise 
and confusion are not only not the revival, but do not 
even form a necessary part of it. " Bodily exercise 
profiteth little ;" and such scenes may occur where 
there is not only no revival, but no religion at all. 
We have seen almost a whole congregation shouting, 
clapping, and amidst the utmost confusion, making a 
deafening noise, when to our certain knowledge there 
was not a single case of real conviction or awakening, 
and very little true piety among the chief actors in 
the scene. Would you call this a revival ? Surely 
it is a burlesque upon the very name. It was a scene 
of confusion and disorder, but not a revival ; the Spirit 
and truth of God did not produce it; no persons were 
converted there, and no good fruits of piety and holi- 
ness appeared from it. Confusion and disorder in 
the worship of God are always wrong and can never 
be made right under any circumstances. True, in 
the management of great and extensive revivals, it 
may sometimes be impossible to prevent or suppress 
all evils of this kind ; yet the people should be 
properly instructed on the subject, and all proper and 
lawful efforts made that all things may be done de- 
cently and in order. And our own experience has 
perfectly satisfied us, that in the great majority of in- 
stances, genuine revivals not only can be conducted 
without confusion and noise, but that as a general rule 
the work is real, deep, powerful, and lasting just m 
proportion to the absence of these things. In a re- 
vival," says Dr. Alexander, it makes the greatest 
difference in the world whether the people have been 



62 A MOST BEAUTIFUL SIGHT. 

carefully taught by catechising, and where they are 
ignorant of the truths of the Bible. In some cases 
revivals are so remarkably pure, that nothing occurs 
with which any pious man can find fault There is 
not only no wildness and extravagance, but very little 
strong commotion of the animal feelings. The word 
of God distills upon the mind like the gentle rain, 
and the Holy Spirit comes down like the dew, diffu- 
sing a blessed influence all around. Such a revival 
affords the most beautiful sight ever seen upon earth. 
Its aspect gives us a lively idea of what will be the 
general state of things in the latter day glory, 
and some faint image of the heavenly state. The 
impressions on the minds of the people in such a work 
are the exact counterpart of the truth ; just as the 
impression on the wax corresponds to the seal. In 
such revivals there is good solemnity and silence. 
The convictions of sin are deep and humbling ; the 
justice of God in the condemnation of the sinner is 
felt and acknowledged : every other refusre but Christ 
is abandoned ; the heart at first is made to feel its own 
impenetrable hardness ; but when least expected, it 
dissolves under a grateful sense of God's goodness, 
and Christ's love ; light breaks in upon the soul either 
by a gradual dawning, or by a sudden flash ; Christ is 
revealed through the gospel, and a firm and often joy- 
ful confidence of salvation through Him is produced ; 
a benevolent, forgiving, meek, humble and contrite 
spirit predominates — the love of God is shed abroad 
— and with some, joy unspeakable and full of glory, 
fills the soul. A spirit of devotion is enkindled. The 



OUR FEELINGS MUST BE 63 

word of God becomes exceedingly precious. Prayer 
is the exercise in which the soul seems to be in its 
proper element, because by it, God is approached, 
and his presence felt, and beauty seen : and the new- 
born soul lives by breathing after the knowledge of 
God, after communion with God, and after conformity 
to his will. Now also springs up in the soul an inex- 
tinguishable desire to promote the glory of God, and 
to bring all men to the knowledge of the truth, and, 
by that means, to the possession of eternal life. The 
sincere language of the heart is " Lord what wouldst 
thou have me to do?" That God may send upon his 
church many such revivals, is my daily prayer ; and 
many such have been experienced in our country, and 
I trust are still going forward in our churches." 1 

No true Christian can have witnessed and mingled 
in the scenes of such revivals as here described with- 
out being convinced of their heavenly origin and most 
blessed influence. He cannot fail to have been struck 
with the great contrast between such a work and a 
scene of wild extravagance and noise, and to have 
devoutly wished and prayed, that all revivals might 
be of this kind. We do not mean that in such a re- 
vival there is no excitement, no depth of conviction, 
no intensity of sorrow for sin, no agony of soul under 
a load of conscious guilt, no breaking up of the very 
fountains of the heart and profuse flowing of tears of 
penitence ; no ; what we mean is, that the feelings are 
under the control of the judgment, and that the excite- 

'Spfagtte's Lectures on Revivals, page 232. 



64 CONTROLLED BY OUR JUDGMENT. 

ment is properly managed. And surely this is as it 
ought to be. Yet we say again, among some people 
it may be exceedingly difficult, perhaps quite impossi- 
ble so to conduct a revival ; still the utmost efforts 
should be made properly to control it, and so prevent 
it from ultimately degenerating into a scene of noise 
and confusion. 

We regard the remarks of Dr. Adam Clarke, the 
pious and learned Methodist Commentator, on this sub- 
ject as highly judicious and to the point. In his com- 
ments on the 32d and 33d verses of the 14th chapter 
of 1 Cor. he has the following : " Verse 32. And the 
spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. Let 
no one interrupt another ; and let all be ready to prefer 
others before themselves : and let each feel a spirit of 
subjection to his brethren. God grants no ungovern- 
able gifts. Verse 33. For God is not the author of 
confusion. Let not the persons who act in the con- 
gregation in this disorderly manner, say that they are 
under the influence of God ; for he is not the author 
of confusion : but two, three or more praying or 
teaching in the same place at the same time, is con- 
fusion ; and God is not the author of such work : and 
let men beware how they attribute such disorders to 
the God of order and peace. The apostle calls such 
conduct cutwjLo-rua-ioU) tumults, seditions ; and such they 
are in the sight of God, and in the sight of all good 
men. How often is the work of God marred and 
discredited by the folly of men ! for nature will always, 
and Satan too, mingle themselves, as far as they can, 
in the genuine work of the Spirit, in order to discredit 



rev. joiin wesley's opinion. 65 

and destroy it. Nevertheless, in great revivals of 
religion, it is almost impossible to prevent wild-fire 
from getting in among the true fire : but it is the 

DUTY OF THE MINISTERS OF GOD TO WATCH 
AGAINST, AND PRUDENTLY CHECK THIS; BUT IF 
THEMSELVES ENCOURAGE IT, THEN THERE WILL BE 
CONFUSION AND EVERY EVIL WORK." 

To this decisive testimony of Dr. Clarke, we will 
add the no less unequivocal language of the Rev. 
John Wesley, the venerable founder of Methodism. 
In his sermon on the text 2 Cor. v. 16, after warmly 
remonstrating against the use of too familiar and 
fondling expressions when applied to the blessed 
Redeemer, he has the following emphatic remarks : — 
" Perhaps some maybe afraid, lest the refraining from 
those warm expressions, or even gently checking 
them, should check the fervor of our devotion. It 
is very possible it may check, or even prevent some 
kind of fervor which has passed for devotion. Pos- 
sibly it may prevent loud shouting, horrid, unnatural 
screaming, repeating the same words twenty or thirty 
times, jumping two or three feet high, and throwing 
about the arms or legs, both of men and women, in a 
manner shocking not only to religion, but to common 
decency : — But it will never check, much less pre- 
vent, true, scriptural devotion. It will rather enliven 
the prayer that is properly addressed to Him, who, 
though he was very man, yet was very God, who, 
though be was born of a woman, to redeem man ; 



66 LET CHRISTIANS KEEP SILENCE. 

yet was God from everlasting, and world without 
end." 1 

We regard these testimonies of these two great 
•Methodist writers, as the most important and decisive 
that can be given on this subject ; because no one 
will contend that they were influenced by a fastidious 
and unfounded prejudice. And however some of their 
followers and admirers may have deviated from these 
plain and wholesome counsels, we are persuaded that 
the great majority of the more pious and enlightened 
ministers and members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church agree with them. It should also be observed, 
that it appears from the sermon itself, from which we 
have taken the above extract, that Mr. Wesley wrote 
it near the close of his life, and therefore it is the well- 
matured opinion of many years' experience. 

What we particularly object to in connection with 
some revivals is, that Christians, the professedly con- 
verted and pious part of the congregations, should 
make this noise, and cause this confusion and disorder. 
If at such times awakened sinners, deeply penitent and 
agonizing beneath the load of their guilt, should heave 
an audible groan, or cry aloud, " God be merciful to 
me a sinner," or "Jesus thou Son of David, have 
mercy on me ;" we should be the last to say to them 
at the time, "Hold your peace P' Yet at such times 
we do say to Christians most emphatically, keep 
silence. And even the awakened should not be en- 
couraged to give vent to their feelings in any loud and 
vociferous manner. It not only does no good, but if 

'Sermons on several occasions by Rev. John Wesley, vol. ii. p. 444. 



DISORDER IN REVIVALS UNSCRiPTURAL. 6*7 

encouraged, will increase and invariably do harm, and 
if not checked will soon entirely destroy the good 
work, or cause it to degenerate into a scene of wild 
fanatacism. The spirit of God will be grieved, and 
take his departure from such scenes, and nothing but 
an artificial animal excitement will remain. 

We are therefor opposed to noise, confusion, and 
disorder in all religion, and especially revivals, for the 
following reasons : — 

1. It is unscriptural. Whilst, as shown upon a 
former page, the Bible encourages the utmost warmth 
and intensity of feeling and devotion in the service of 
God, it no where sanctions clapping, groaning, jumping, 
screaming, and the like; but emphatically tells us, 
" Let all things be done decently and in order." 1 
Cor. xiv. 40. Judgment and reason must always be 
able to manage scriptural excitement, so that it does 
not break out into wildness and extravagance. 

2. It is unnecessary. Most persons who favor or do 
not oppose such scenes in revivals, are under the 
impression that .they are necessary, and that to attempt 
to check them, would injure the revival and tend to 
grieve away the Holy Spirit. Now this we regard as 
a fatal mistake. Nay we know it to be an error from 
our own experience. We have mingled in the scenes 
of many revivals among all classes of people, and we 
have uniformly found, that the less noise and confu- 
sion, the deeper and more lasting was the work, and 
the greater and more permanent was the good accom- 
plished. Yet all attempts to check these things must 
be very carefully and judiciously made. Let minis- 



68 UNNECESSARY AND INJURIOUS. 

ters at the commencement of the work plainly and 
candidly and in the spirit of love and meekness, tell 
the people that noise and confusion are not the revival, 
and that " all things should he done decently and in 
order," and they will soon find, not only that proper 
silence and order will be observed, but that every gen- 
uine work of grace will be greatly promoted thereby. 
If any doubt this, we have only to beg of them to try 
it. We have tried it often, and our remark is the 
result of our experienee. 

3. It does great i?ijury. It does injury to the work 
itself. It impairs its purity. As God is not the author 
of confusion, so the Holy Spirit is grieved away just 
in proportion to the introduction of wild -fire and ex- 
travagance into the genuine work. And as the Holy 
.Spirit is withdrawn, so the work degenerates — be- 
comes less and less pure, until it is entirely destroyed 
Men have meddled with it, and left upon it " the 
prints of their fingers, and thus created unsightly 
spots in a blaze of glory." It does injury to the work 
in another way. It offends intelligent and judicious 
persons, and frequently leads them to oppose revivals 
altogether. They are of course not justified in per- 
mitting the abuses of a good work to set them against 
the work itself, but the friends of revivals are never- 
theless bound to use their best efforts so to manage 
the work as not to give any just cause of offence. 
Genuine revivals are the work of God, and all Chris- 
tians should be united in promoting them. It does 
injury, because it opens the mouths of gain-sayers and 
revilers, and causes our good to be evil spoken of. 



NO WORK OP MAN PERFECT. 69 

But for our extravagance probably some of these very 
men might have become subjects of the work, and 
thus be brought into the fold of the Redeemer; but in 
this way we disgust them, and drive them away from 
all religion, and so hinder the gospel of God. We 
ought as far as possible so to manage revivals, and 
every other interest of religion, as to have a good 
report of them that are without. It does injury to 
the subjects of the work. It tends to deceive them. 
The extravagance and confusion will draw away their 
minds from the great and practical truths of the gos- 
pel — repentance, faith, and reformation of life. They 
will mistake their tears, sympathies, and animal emo- 
tions for a change of heart and submission to God. 
Our own experience leads us to believe that many of 
those very individuals, professed Christians, who are 
the most noisy and clamorous at revivals, are them- 
selves deceived — have never been truly converted, 
and are ignorant of the nature of vital piety. They 
depend entirely upon their feelings, instead of the 
sober convictions of an enlightened judgement. For 
these reasons we are utterly opposed to extravagance, 
confusion, and noise in revivals of religion. Not that 
we believe that any work with which man has any 
thing to do is perfect ; but that we are to watch and 
pray, and use all proper means, that those precious 
revivals of religion with which God has so abundantly 
blessed, and is now blessing the American churches, 
may be untarnished in their beauty and glory, and 
accomplish the good for which they are sent. 



CHAPTER III. 

WHAT IS A GENUINE REVIVAL OF RELIGION, 
CONSIDERED AFFIRMATIVELY. 

Two circumstances will enable us to answer this 
question intelligently and satisfactorily: first, the 
etymology of the word, and secondly, the general usage 
of the Christian church. 

The term revival is derived from two Latin words, 
re and vivo, which literally signify, to re-live, to live 
again, or to restore to new life. It implies that the 
object or being to which it refers had a previous 
existence or life, but having died, declined, or fallen 
into disuse and neglect, is again restored to new life 
and vigor — revived. In this sense we have numerous 
revivals in the intellectual, moral, political, and natural 
world around us. We have intellectual revivals. 
When old systems of philosophy, education, or lite- 
rature, which have long been exploded and thrown 
aside, are brought to life again ; find new advocates 
and adherents, who restore them from their death, 
disuse or decline, we say of them properly, they are 
revived. When, after a general neglect, the subject 
of education receives a new impulse, and renewed 
efforts are made to extend its benefits to all, and to 
interest ail in its general diffusion, it is revived. 



DIFFERENT KINDS OF REVIVALS. 71 

We have revivals of manners and customs. When 
antiquated fashions, modes, and customs again become 
prevalent, and "the olden times" are acted over again, 
we say they are revived. We have business revivals. 
Say the merchant, mechanic, and trades-man, when, 
after a general decline and deep depression, a distres- 
sing dullness and stagnation in business, a change for 
the better takes place, " the times have improved," 
" business is more brisk," trade has revived. So also 
we have revivals of politics, temperance, and almost 
every thing else. We have revivals in nature. Be- 
hold the earth after a long summer drouth ! How it 
is parched by a burning sun ! — how the crops, the 
flowers, and vegetation generally droop, wither, and 
fade ! But now the Lord sends a gracious and 
refreshing rain, and what a change it soon produces. 
How natural and expressive for men now to say, 
" every thing is revived, nature seems restored to new 
life !" Look again upon the earth in the midst of 
bleak, barren, icy winter ! How the frosts, snows, 
and chilling blasts of this season have stript the forests 
of their foliage, the meadows of their green, the fields 
of their gay flowers, and the earth of all her summer 
beauty ! How desolate is the face of fair nature ! 
But now the gentle showers, the genial sun, and the 
balmy breezes of lovely spring have returned, and 
see, what a resurrection from the dead they have pro- 
duced ! How the beauties of creation are restored, 
and what a glorious revival has not taken place ! Thus 
we have a great many different kinds of revivals in 
nature, providence, business, politics, education, liter 



72 REVIVAL PRESUPPOSES A DECLINE. 

ture and the like, and every person understands what 
they are : shall we have none in religion ? Does not 
the same God, who rules in "the kingdom of nature 
and providence, also preside over the interests of his 
church, and rule in the kingdom of grace ? Ought 
we not therefore to expect and pray and labor for 
revivals of religion ? 

In the sense of a revival now given, it is to be ob- 
served, that it can take place only among christians — 
only among those who once possessed true piety, but 
who have backslidden from the Lord, and lost their 
first love. — Persons, in whose hearts the flame of vital 
godliness once existed and burned, who have per- 
mitted that, holy flame to be smothered and quenched, 
by the cares of the world, and the neglect of their 
christian duties. Such persons may, they ought to 
be, they must be revived or perish, in the sense of 
the word given above. And as all christians do back- 
slide more or less, so all have need thus to be revived. 
Reader ! professed follower of the Lord Jesus 
Christ! does vital piety flourish in thy soul as it 
otmht at this time ? Hast thou not reason even now to 
humble thyself before God, and with deep penitence 
and sorrow confess thy sins of negligence, backsli- 
ding, and waywardness ! May the Lord revive thy 
soul, and grant that thou mayest at all times have that 
heavenly life, manly vigor, burning zeal, and devoted 
ardor in the service of God, which thou oughtest to 
have ! 

But common usage lias given to the word revival a 
more extensive signification. It is used to express 



REVIVAL DEFINED. 73 

not only the quickening* and reviving of christians, 
but also the awakening, conviction, and conversion of 
sinners, hypocrites, and formalists. It is generally 
applied to those cases of religious excitement, in 
which a number of individuals, or whole congregations, 
towns, or neighborhoods, are simultaneously aroused to 
a sense of their guilt and danger, and begin to inquire, 
" Men and brethren what shall we do?" — when num- 
bers of precious souls are brought under the regene- 
rating and saving* influences of God's grace. We 
may therefore define a genuine revival to be, a mer- 
ciful VISITATION OF God's HoLY SPIRIT, IN WHICH 

christians are quickened and excited to new 
life, zeal, and devotedness in the service of 
God, and hypocrites, formalists, and sinners 
savingly converted. 

^ Wherever," says Dr. Sprague of Albany, u you 
see religion rising up from a state of comparative de- 
pression to a tone of increased vigor and strength; 
wherever you see professing christians becoming 
more faithful to their obligations, and behold the 
strength of the church increased by fresh accessions 
of piety from the world, there is a state of things 
which you need not hesitate to denominate a revival 
of religion," 1 

>3uch is the nature of a genuine revival, and the 
reader will not fail to have observed, that it is char- 
acterized by three prominent features: a quickening 
of christians, an undeceiving and converting of hypo- 

1 Spague's Lectures on Revivals, 



74 CHRISTIANS REVIVED, 

crites and formalists, and an awakening and regenera- 
tion of sinners. 

1. Professing christians are quickened and revived. 
There is usually at a revival " great searching of 
heart," deep humility, solemn confession, and mourn- 
ing over sins of past negligence and coldness among 
the professed followers of the Redeemer. They 
are now anxious to discover their real condition in 
the sight of God, to have their hearts searched as 
with a lighted candle, and even the possibility of their 
being deceived, or having built upon a sandy founda- 
tion makes them tremble for their souls. O they now 
wish to make sure work for eternity ! They most 
sincerely and penitently mourn over their former 
backslidings, coldness and indifference, and now com- 
mence of a new to " work out their own salvation 
with fear and trembling," and to glorify God in their 
bodies and sou]s which are his. O what love, fervor, 
faith, and zeal they now manifest ! What attractions 
the Sabbath, and the house and ordinances of God now 
have! How the gates of Zion are now thronged, 
and what blessed enjoyment they now find in com- 
munion with their Lord ; for their " fellowship is now 
■with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ!" 
They are now always seen in their places in the 
church, at the communiontable, and the prayer-meet- 
ing. How devoutly and earnestly they now join in 
all the exercises ! Prayer-meetings now spring up in 
the congregations, and persons take part in them, 
whose lips were never opened before. They now 
pray in private, in their families, and for the church, 



FORMALISTS AND HYPOCRITES AWAKENED. 75 

They converse with each other on the subject of re- 
ligion, and are no longer ashamed to urge their friends 
and neighbors to seek the Lord. They no longer 
stand aloof from their pastor, or become offended at 
him for his close practical preaching ; but they now 
uphold his hands and encourage his heart, and pray 
for him most devoutly, that he may be the mouth of 
God to the people, and that the word which he 
preaches may be " quick and powerful, sharper than 
a two-edged sword" in the hearts of men. They now 
want spiritual preaching ; and can no longer be fed 
upon the husks of a cold powerless orthodoxy, in 
which there is neither life nor spiritually. They now 
begin to inquire into, and read about the wants of the 
church and the world, and their hearts and hands are 
open and ready for " every good word and work." 
The cause of Education and Missions, of Bible, Tract, 
Sabbath School, and Temperance Societies now lays, 
hold upon their affections, and receives their cheerful 
co-operation. Their hearts are now warmed up with 
the holy fire of divine love, and it spreads all around 
and ignites every thing with which it comes into con- 
tact. In a word, Christians now begin to feel and to 
do their duty. They are revived. 

2. Hypocrites and formalists are undeceived and 
brought to a saving acquaintance with the Lord. Such 
persons are often received into the church and remain 
in it for years without discovering their real condition. 
For a long time they cry \f peace, peace to their souls, 
though God has not said peace." But in time of a 
revival, if they attend the meetings at all, the scales 



/6 SINNERS CONVERTED 

are very apt to fall of, and their sleepy leaden eye& 
to open upon their true condition. Their sandy faun-* 
dations are now discovered, and their refuges of lies 
swept away ; and thus divested of every false hope, 
they find themselves naked and exposed, in all their 
guilt and pollution, to the piercing eye of that God 
who cannot be mocked or deceived, and in agony 
they begin to cry out, what must we do to be saved ? 
They now discover that all their own righteousness 
is as filthy rags, and that no external forms and cere- 
monies, no outward morality will avail without true 
piety. They now see that " neither circumcision 
availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new 
creature." Hence they can no longer rest, and have 
no more peace, until they have experienced a saving 
change of heart, and can triumphantly say, u I know 
that my Redeemer liveth." 

3. A third characteristic of a genuine revival is an 
extended and sometimes general awakening among sin- 
nerSj and numerous cases of hopeful conversion take 
place. The truth of God faithfully preached and en- 
forced by the Holy Spirit burns like fire in the hearts 
of theunregenerate ; they become alarmed and uneasy, 
feel as they never did before, and frequently contrary, 
to the wishes of their carnal minds, become earnest 
seekers of religion. Sometimes they endeavor to 
stifle their convictions, shake off their unpleasant 
feelings, and return to their carelessness ; but their 
false peace is disturbed, and they find no rest. At 
length they submit, as humble penitents, to the only 
Savior of sinners, and embracing him by a living faith, 
4 



tfELiCfllTFVL STATE. Yl 

find their load of sin removed. Thus scores and hun- 
dreds are sometimes brought to the Lord, in the short 
space of a few weeks or months, and the moral and 
religious rspect of whole congregations and neighbor- 
hoods is entirely and radically changed. What a 
most blessed state of things is not this ! What chris- 
tian's heart does not spontaneously and most earnestly 
cry to God, " O Lord revive thy work ! M in great 
mercy send us all, throughout the whole church, such 
revivals ? 



CHAPTER IV. 

ARE GENUINE REVIVALS THE CHURCHES BEST STATE ? 

We have now> at some length, examined the nature 
of genuine revivals, and are therefore prepared for 
the question, is this the church's best state ? This cer- 
tainly is an inquiry of thrilling interest, and claims a 
calm and thorough investigation. We have no doubt 
that our readers will be divided on this subject. Many 
who have just been blessed with interesting and well- 
conducted revivals, whose hearts are warm with the 
holy fire, and who are now gathering the blessed fruits 
of the gracious work, will exclaim unhesitatingly and 
even with much warmth, revivals are the best and most 
glorious state of the church this side of heaven itself! 
Revivals icill soon usher in the millenium ! Others, 
perhaps equally pious and devoted to the Redeemer's 
cause, will answer this question in the negative, and 
say, we love genuine revivals, properly and judiciously 
conducted, they have done, and will do much good; 
but they are not the church's best state ; we can con- 
ceive of a state possible, which would be preferable. 
A third class who are ignorant of vital godliness and 
hostile to it, are of course opposed altogether to revi- 
vals. With this class we have no controversy at 
present ; they are the enemies of God and his work ; 



DiSCOSSION BETWEEN A. AND B. 79 

■and all we have to tell them is, that they are on the 
road to ruin, and " unless they repent they will all 
likewise perish." They are in a most dangerous con- 
dition, " without God and without hope in the world;" 
now under sentence of condemnation, and every mo* 
ment exposed to his wrath and displeasure! 

We once heard two zealous and devoted ministers 
of the gospel discussing the question which forms the 
-caption of this chapter, and in giving as nearly as we 
can, the substance of their remarks, and the conclu- 
sion to which they came, we have no doubt we shall 
answer the Question to the satisfaction of our readers 
generally. We will premise, that both these brethren 
were truly pious, and labored zealously and success- 
fully in the vineyard of the Lord, and they were both 
in favor of genuine revivals of religion, but differed in 
their Views of the subject. The one contended that 
well conducted revivals constituted the best possible 
state of the church upon earth ; but the other main- 
tained that they did not ; that he could conceive of a 
state, and that he had known congregations to be in a 
condition, far preferable to that of revivals. Said Mr. 
A., " I do not speculate on this subject; a cold, life- 
less calculating human philosophy does not govern me 
in matters of religion; I submit fads, stubborn facts, 
to prove that revivals are the church's best state. By 
the fruit we are to know the tree, and if we look for 
a moment at the blessed and glorious results of revi- 
vals we must be convinced. Is it not, a fact, that a 
single revival of religion has frequently, in the course 
of a few weeks, changed the character and destiny of 
5 



80 WHAT REVIVALS HAVE BOISE. 

a whole congregation, town or neighborhood ? — that 
in this short space of time, more souls were converted 
to God, more backsliders reclaimed, more formalists 
undeceived, the children of God more encouraged and 
built up, the church more strengthened and improved, 
and a greater amount of real good accomplished, than 
for years before ? Have not revivals been the means 
of " pulling down the strong holds of Satan," of 
breaking up the haunts of vice and crime, and of ex- 
tending and firmly establishing the Redeemer's king- 
dom in places, where humanly speaking, all other 
means had failed? Are not those congregations which 
have been blessed with revivals foremost in every 
good work, and is it not there alone that we find reli- 
gion really alive and flourishing? Go into one of 
your old fashioned congregations, who know nothing 
of revivals and are opposed to them, and what is the 
state of things ? Is not your very soul frozen and 
starved by the coldness, dearth, and moral death that 
reign all around? You find no prayer meetings, or if 
any they are as lifeless as the dry bones in the valley 
of death, no Temperance, Tract, Bible, Missionary, 
and Education societies, or if there are any, they are 
dragging out a miserable, languishing, unprofitable 
existence. The Sunday-Schools are neglected, and 
dying for want of support. The church is thinly 
attended and there is no life in the worship; the com- 
munion table is surrounded by few ; there is no dis- 
cipline exercised, and the most wicked men often rule; 
the members never pray in private nor in their fami- 
lies: and in a word, there is scarcely a shadow of any 



OBJECTIONS TO REVIVALS. 8l 

thing like true piety to be found ; all is one grand 
moral waste ! But now go into a revival congregation, 
and how changed the scene! O what a contrast! 
All is life, love, faith, zeal, and devotion. You seem 
to be at once in the very atmosphere of heaven and 
to join in the worship of the skies ! I confess sir, 
that my soul takes fire here, and 1 become enthusiastic 
on the subject. Give me revivals forever, until I get 
to heaven, and there I know I shall enjoy an eternal 
uninterrupted one I" 

To this Mr. B. replied, " You have given us a most 
beautiful picture of revivals, and in general I believe 
it is a true, though rather a one-sided one. I am not 
opposed to, but highly in favor of true revivals; I" 
believe they have done much good. May God send 
genuine revivals into every congregation in our land I 
But Mr. A. you certainly have presented only the 
bright side of the subject, and truth requires that I 
should present the other also. I am not fond of 
speaking of the evils connected with, and sometimes 
resulting from, any thing that is good, (I would to 
God there were none in connection with revivals !) 
but we must look at things as they are. I shall not 
speculate on the subject any more than you ; let facts 
be submitted. Understand me distinctly, I am not 
opposed to genuine revivals; they are the work of 
God?s Holy Spirit, and no Christian can or dare op- 
pose his work. But I contend that they are not the 
church's best state for the following reasons : — 

1. They are always of short duration, and are 
almost invariably succeeded by a reaction, a state of 



B2 THEIR SHORT DURATION, EXCESSES AND 

coldness and backsliding as much to be deplored, as 
that which you described as existing' in u the old 
fashioned congregations." My heart has often been 
cheered by the news of a revival in a congregation , 
but when, a few weeks or months afterwards, I was 
permitted to visit that people, I found, alas ! that the 
revival was not there! The storm had blown over^ 
and a dreadful calm had succeeded. Do you call this 
the church's best state ? Must a congregation be all 
fire and excitement for a [ew weeks, that it may be all 
deadness for months and years afterwards? Do you 
call this a good, a desirable state of things? Does 
not the Bible teach that " the path of the just is as 
the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the 
perfect day;" 1 but revivals are like comets, which 
blaze and sparkle brilliantly, for a kw days, as they 
pass along, but are soon gone, and all is dark and 
dreary again. 

2. But I argue secondly, that revivals can not be 
the church's best state, because of the excesses and 
disorders that are frequently, if not generally, con- 
nected with them. Are they not often scenes of the 
utmost extravagance and the wildest confusion ? Are 
not the meetings often multiplied to excess^ and con- 
tinued to a very late and unseasonable hour at night; 
so that the domestic affairs of families are often com- 
pletely disarranged and neglected? Is there not in 
the meetings frequently so much loud groaning, weep- 
ing, praying, shouting and the like, that the preacher, 

•Prov. iv. 18. 



DISORDERS, ERRONEOUS STANDARDS. 83 

or he who leads in prayer cannot be heard above the 
tumult and confusion ? Do not professors , (and we will 
charitably hope, possessors,) of religion, at such times, 
often make more noise than the mourners ? I will not 
mention any of the more gross and unbecoming dis- 
orders, which I have occasionally heard, are connect- 
ed with revivals. I believe they are upon the whole, 
of rare occurrence, and always result from great mis- 
management. But those, and others like them, which 
I have now specified, 1 cannot sanction; nor can I be- 
lieve that is the best state of the church, which gives 
rise to and approbates them. 

3. But I say again, these excitements cannot be the 
church's best state, because they tend greatly to un- 
dervalue and even counteract the influence of the or- 
dinary ministrations of the gospel, and set up errone- 
ous standards in the church. 

Revival christians are very apt to think, that no 
good can be done, except during a revival ! Hence 
the pastor may preach, pray, and labor most faith- 
fully, in season and out of season, on the Sabbath and 
during the week ; it is all to no purpose — his people 
are waiting for the next protracted meeting, or other 
extraordinary occasion, when an excitement will be 
" got up," and then they will all at once take fire ! 
They seem to have expected no blessing upon the 
ordinary labors of their pastor, did not pray for it, 
and of course did not obtain it. The standard has 
been set up that there can be no true religion, no con- 
versions to God, no backsliders reclaimed, no belie- 
vers revived and built up, except during an excite- 



84 REVIVALS NOT PERFECT. 

merit ; hence christians may be cold or hot, active or 
asleep, dead or alive, just as the revival goes or dies 
away ! Now does the Bible warrant this continued 
ebb and flow in the tide of true piety ? Is a man to 
grow in grace, advance in the divine life, and mani- 
fest his religion to the world only " by fits and starts !" 
Are not christians called " the light of the world," 
and should they not therefore, like the glorious sun in 
the firmament, " let their light shine" with a constant 
and ever increasing effulgence, iC so that others might 
see their good works, and glorify our Father who is 
in heaven?" Should they not be " constant and im- 
movable, always abounding in the work of the Lord ?" 
For these reasons I cannot believe revivals, as they 
generally exist, to be the church's best state. Yet I 
am not opposed to genuine revivals, for I believe, not- 
withstanding the evils which are mostly connected 
with them, that they have been the means of accom- 
plishing much good. I am also convinced that most, 
perhaps all, of these evils might be avoided by proper 
management. I have spoken of things as they are, 
and not as I could icish them to be." 

Mr. A — " I admire your candor Mr. B — and rejoice 
that you have spoken your mind so freely and fully 
on this important subject. You have certainly pre- 
sented the dark side of the revival picture, and I think 
quite as highly colored as the truth will admit. You 
of course do not expect that revivals should be per- 
fect, and free from all objections. If you did, you 
would have to object to religion itself, and everything 
else that is good, with which poor imperfect man has 



NOT NECCESSAIIILY OF SHORT DURATION, 85 

any thing- to do. Our religion came from heaven, 
and is pure and hol}~ as its author; yet we see many 
most cruel contortions, misrepresentations, and abuses 
of it. So revivals are from heaven, the work of the 
Holy Spirit, but they exist among, operate upon, and 
are managed by men, whose imperfections aud weak- 
nesses often appear conspicuously in connection with 
them. But we cannot, we dare not oppose them on 
this ground. On the contrary we should endeavor to 
correct the evils and promote the good. 

But as you have given your objections in a little 
sermon under three distinct heads, I must take the 
same course in ray reply. 

1. You object to revivals, because they are of short 
duration, and are succeeded by a reaction, as you call 
it. Now suppose I grant, that all you say under this 
head is true, is not this state better still, than one of 
uninterrupted coldness, deadness, and formality ? Is 
it not better to wake up occasionally, and have a little 
fire and excitement, even if it does not continue long, 
than to be always asleep and inactive? Surely a small 
shower of rain, though it he of short duration and be 
succeeded by another drouth, is better than none at 
all, and an everlasting, uninterrupted burning drouth! 
But your statement is not altogether true, and is cal- 
culated to mislead. Jill revivals are not of such short 
duration, nor succeeded by such reaction as you re- 
present. On the contrary I have known many of a 
very different character. I have known them to con- 
tinue for many months, and even for -years, without 
being followed by any reaction at all. Not that the 



86 OR CHARACTERIZED RI EXCESSJGF. 

same degvee of excitement continued all the lime, buc 
the same lively, deep-toned, warm, zealous. :. 
state of piety. I have known revival : >bs 

to erjjoy such a delightful state of things uninter- 
ruptedly for years; and 1 believe it possible for 
revivals to be thus continued. Thes : : k\ id of 

revivals that I love to see, and particularly advocate. 
This I call the church's best state. There is i 
connected with genuine revivals themselves that should 
limit their duration to a tew weeks, and cause them 
to be followed by a reaction, such as you have de- 
scribed. It always results from mismanagemen: :_ 
the good work. 

Besides, the fruits even of such mismanaged revi- 
vals are not of such short duration. There are al- 
wavs some cases of s'euuine conversion to God; some 
individuals who are really brought into the kii 
of Christ, and remain faithful until death. Hence I 
conceive that your first objection not only loses all its. 
force, but really falls to the ground. 

2. But you say great excesses and disc . are 
sometimes connected with revivals. I grant and 
deeply deplore that this has sometimes been the case. 
Scenes have sometimes been connected with revivals, 
and have even passed and bee:. ken for then 

which were disgraceful to religion and to those con- 
cerned in them. Such scenes have in all ages of 
church been connected more or less with the most sa- 
cred and solemn institutions of religion, and yet you 
do not oppose religion on that account, nor should y 
object to revivals, because ; : uatical persons h 



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 87 

abused them. I am not the advocate of confusion and 
disorder, I assure you ; but I do know from my own 
experience that revivals may be conducted, that the 
most extensive and powerful always are, without any 
extravagance, confusion, or disorder. Hence it is un- 
just for you to attempt to palm upon revivals an ob- 
jection which lies only against an abuse of them. 

3. You affirm that revivals tend to undervalue and 
even counteract the ordinary ministrations of the gos- 
pel, and to set up erroneous standards in the church. 
JNow I deny that this is the legitimate tendency or 
result of revivals. Ignorant and fanatical people may 
here, as in the former case, abuse a good thing ; but 
revivals are the very last means to induce intelligent 
and reflecting men, warm hearted and devoted chris- 
tians to undervalue the ministrations of the gospel. 
True, they become dissatisfied with cold formality, 
and lifeless, soul-chilling stupidity in the service of 
God ; but it only makes them prize more highly the 
true and spiritual ministrations of the sanctuary. So 
far are revivals from undervaluing the ordinary labors 
of the zealous pastor, that I have known many to 
commence and to be carried on throughout under his 
ordinary labors alone, and unspeakably to facilitate all 
his future operations. No wrong standards are set up, 
but many torn down, and right ones set up. Revi- 
vals do not warrant nor encourage the ebb and flow 
in the tide of true piety to which you refer. On the 
contrary, they urge christians continually to " walk 
with God," and to " keep themselves in the love of 
God" at all times and under all circumstances. Ilav- 
6 



88 CONTINUED LIVELY STATE OF PIETY. 

ing now. as I conceive, given a satisfactory reply to 
your objections, you will permit me to ask you one 
question, viz. If revivals are not the church's best 
state, what do you regard as such ?" 

Mr. B — " I want a lively state of piety in a congre- 
gation at all times. If revivals would continue, if we 
could always have them, and divest them of the un- 
necessary animal excitement usually connected with 
them I would agree with you, that they are the church's 
best state ; and then I think the whole world would 
soon be converted to God. But I cannot like these 
storms and calms, these ebbs and flows in true reli- 
gion." 

Mr. A — " I heartily rejoice Mr. B — that after all 
we really do agree substantially on this interesting 
subject. I do not advocate the evils connected with 
revivals, but only the good. O if we could have 
constant revivals of the right sort, (and why may we 
not,) would it not be heaven upon eardi ! We both 
agree Sir, for this certainly would be the church's 
best state. The evils you have mentioned are not 
neccessarily connected with revivals, they may be 
avoided. There need not, there should not be a calm 
and a dreadful reaction after a revival, and in many 
cases there is not. If the work is properly managed, 
we mav have a lively state of piety at all times in our 
congregations, and thus have constant revivals." 

]\j r< b — " I am really pleased with your idea of 
an ever continuing lively state of piety, but I would 
not call it a revival, for it would supersede the neces- 
sitv of revivals altogether. For if revivals are neces- 



NOT CONTENDING FOR NAMES. 89 

sary at all, it is because there is first a dying, decli- 
ning, backsliding in the service of God, but where 
there is nothing of this there cannot be reviving" 

Mr. A — " I am not contending about names, but 
things, and hence you may call it an ever-continuing 
lively state of piety. It is after all, just what is gen- 
erally meant by a revival. Now Sir, it is very evi- 
dent that a constant revival is preferable to an occa- 
sional one. O for constant, everlasting revivals of 
religion !" " Amen, amen," said Mr. B — and so the 
discussion ended. 



CHAPTER V. 



CONSTANT REVIVALS. 



We have no doubt that the idea of a constant re- 
vival of religion will be regarded by many as a new 
doctrine, if not a new measure. - Some lean, barren, 
cold-hearted formalists would look upon such a state 
of things as a most dreadful calamity. What ! a con- 
stant revival! Alarming thought! What will the 
world yet come to ? They have suffered enough 
from the occasional revivals of which they have heard 
and read, and have mourned over this spirit of fanati- 
cism and wild-fire which is " turning the world up- 
side down ;" what would become of them if we should 
have them constantly! That the church may be pre- 
served from such a state of ruin they pray and labor 
most earnestly ! Still the friends of vital piety need 
not be alarmed at this, for it is only "the effectual 
fervent prayer of the righteous man, that availeth 
much" with God ; and the prayers of the Bible, and 
of all Bible-christians are against these formalists. 

But there are others, who love vital piety and gen- 
uine revivals, and who have experienced the power of 
true godliness in their own souls, who believe that a 
constant revival is an impossibility — that it is only 
theory with us, and has no existence, but. in our own 



REVIVAL TIME BANEFUL INFLUENCE. 91 

imagination. We have reason to believe that this no- 
tion prevails extensively, perhaps we ought to say 
generally, even among revival christians, in our Ame- 
rican churches: nevertheless' we not only venture to 
differ from this opinion, but to declare our conviction 
that it is utterly erroneous, and that it is a great bar- 
rier in the way of the work of God. Let christians 
generally in a congregation or neighborhood, or the 
church at large, be under the impression that revivals 
are necessarily always of short duration, and like 

" Angel visits, few and far between ;" 

that like hail-storms or comets, we are to expect them 
only now and then, at long intervals, and only for a 
little season, and what will be the result? The an- 
swer is obvious. Such persons will not and cannot 
expect, labor, nor pray sincerely for the out-pouring of 
God's Holy Spirit, until the time fixed in their own 
minds for the occurrence of the important event ar- 
rives! Their tears and lamentations over " the dry 
bones" in the valley of moral death must all be re- 
strained until the favored revival season comes ! the 
pastor may preach, labor, and pray ever so faithfully; 
all the means of grace may be regularly and sincere- 
ly used ; it is all in vain, the revival time has not come! 
Now is it not evident that the effects of all this must 
be most disastrous, eminently calculated to hinder the 
cause of God, and prevent the revival of his work. 
The means of grace are not followed up by proper 
efforts among the people; the seed of the word is not 
watered by their prayers and tears; the professed 
people of God have no faith, and hence do not sin- 



92 OF THIS ERROR. 

cerely expect God's blessing, and of course little or 
no good can be accomplished. 

Sometimes God most signally confounds this fatal 
delusion by sending, in the order of his Providence, 
powerful and almost miraculous revivals into congre- 
gations when the members are all asleep, and neither 
expected nor prayed for such an event ! Hence we 
sometimes have such news as the following published 
through the length and breadth of Zion: " We have 
had a most powerful revival of religion; and what is 
remarkable, it commenced when we did not expect it, and 
when no special efforts were made to produce or pro- 
mote such a work !" Now ou°-ht we not to sav, shame 
upon such faithless, sleepy, inactive christians, who 
instead of being always alive, ever laboring and pray- 
ing, " in season, out of season," that souls might be 
converted, backsliders reclaimed, the work of God 
revived and the Redeemer's kingdom built up and 
extended, look upon it as almost an accident when 
these things are done amongst them ! They pray, no 
doubt, " Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on 
earth as it is in heaven;" and yet when that kingdom 
does come, and that will is done, they are not ashamed 
to confess to the whole world, " the work commenced 
when we did not expect it, and when no special efforts 
were made to promote it!" Yea double shame upon 
such christians for permitting the good work, after a 
few weeks, to die away ; or perhaps, what is worse, 
for positively quenching and grieving away the Holy 
Spirit, and then saying, " we have had a revival I" 
intimating that the work has stopped ; that they are 



NOTHING IN THEIR NATURE TO LIMIT THEM. 93 

glad that it came, and are not sorry that it is all over ! ! 
Now we should like to ask such persons, if constant 
revivals are impossible, how often we may expect 
them ? We have heard of Christians who supposed 
that every fourteen years we might expect a revival ! 
Others thought that once every seven years, or there- 
abouts, we might look for one in a congregation ! 
Now in the name of all that is sacred and honest, we 
ask, if all this is mere theory or conjecture, whether 
ours, or the seven or fourteen year theory is the better 
or more plausible? If genuine revivals are really the 
work of God, and productive of the most blessed 
results, is it not more desiraable to enjoy them con- 
stantly, than every seven or fourteen years, and then 
only for a few short weeks at a time? Is it not more 
honorable to God, who has promised his blessing upon 
all our sincere efforts and that at all times — who has 
said, " Lo I am with you always, even to the end of 
the world" — u and where two or three are gathered 
together in my name, there will I be in the midst of 
them ;" is it not more honorable to our God and Re- 
deemer, and more in accordance with his own char- 
acter and word, that we should have his presence 
with us constantly in revivals, than that w T e should 
have it only occassionally and at long distant intervals? 
But it is not mere theory or conjecture. Constant re- 
vivals are possible and practicable. 

1. There is nothing in the nature of genuine revi- 
vals to lead us to believe that they are to be enjoyed 
only at certain widely separated intervals, and but for 
a few weeks at the time. What is a revival ? It has 



94 REVIVAL WORK EVERY DAY WORK. 

been defined to consist of three prominent features : 
the quickening and spiritual growth of christians; the 
undeceiving and regeneration of hypocrites, formalists, 
and backsliders ; and the sound and thorough conver- 
sion of impenitent sinners. Are these eternally im- 
portant results of christian effort to be looked for only 
occasionally? — every seven or fourteen years? How 
absurd ! On the contrary, are not these the legitimate 
fruits of the proper and faithful use of the means of 
grace at all times? Whenever an evangelical sermon 
is preached, a prayer meeting held, and the ordinan- 
ces of God's house administered faithfully and sin- 
cerely, are we not to expect God's blessing, and as 
the immediate result, the building up of believers, and 
the conversion of sinners? But all these means of 
grace we are to use constantly, in season and out of 
season; and God's blessing we are always to expect, 
and why then may not the same results constantly be 
expected ? Hence constant revivals are possible. 
This conclusion is inevitable, unless the absurd and 
sinful position be assumed, that the means of God's 
own appointment may be properly, sincerely, and 
faithfully used, and yet be unaccompanied by his di- 
vine blessing, and consequently fail to produce the re- 
sults for which they were designed ! If this were so, 
then we might as well not use them at all. Then let 
us close our churches, and preach, and pray, and la- 
bor no more ; God will do his own work in his own 
time- without our poor instrumentality! Such a doc- 
trine is absurd and wicked. Is not the work to be ac- 
complished at revivals, every day work? — just what we 



THE EXCITEMENT WILL VARY. 95 

ought to aim at and expect in all our efforts to do 
good? Did not the apostles preach, pray, and labor 
as though they expected immediate results '.? Did they 
not address sinners in the name of God as though they 
expected them to yield immediately, and become con- 
verted right on the spot? Do you ever hear an apostle 
tell his congregation of impenitent hearers, as is often 
done at the present day, to cc go home and think about 
these things ?." That is, in fact, telling them to con- 
tinue in sin and rebellion against God ! No wonder 
that men who have this notion and preach in this style, 
do not believe in the possibility of constant revivals! 
We say again revival work is every day work, and it 
ought to be the object of our continued and unceasing 
efforts. Hence constant revivals are possible. Let it 
be distinctly understood that we have not now said, 
and that we do not maintain, that the same degree of 
excitement in connection with revivals should continue 
constantly. This is impossible. External excitement 
upon any subject varies with circumstances. The ex- 
citement however is not the revival, and is no correct 
criterion to judge of its true character and extent. The 
most powerful and extensive work of grace is some- 
times accompanied by the least external excitement ; 
whilst great excitement is sometimes manifested where 
there is little or no good accomplished. Nay, it is to 
be feared, that one grand reason why many of our re- 
vivals have been of such short duration is, that the mere 
excitement has been encouraged and fostered to the 
neglect and injury of the genuine work of the Spirit, 
or the former has even been mistaken for the latter. 



90 OPERATIONS OF SPIRIT CONTINUED. 

Consequently the Spirit was either grieved away, or 
when the excitement measureahly subsided, the im- 
pression began to prevail, that the work was at an 
end ; that the operations of the Spirit were with- 
drawn; and that no further exertions need be made! 
No wonder that the work did stop soon after it had 
fairly commenced, and probably at the very moment 
when it was becoming most pure and genuine ! Pro- 
bably but for this erroneous impression, this sinful mis- 
take, the revival might have continued for months or 
years; the work of edifying and building up believers; 
of reclaiming backsliders ; and of awakening and con- 
verting hypocrites, formalists, and impenitent sinners 
might have continued uninterruptedly until all in the 
whole comrrea-ation, town, or neighborhood would 
have been brought under the saving influence of di- 
vine grace, and made what they ought to be. This 
surely is possible ; — is just what God desires and in- 
tended should be accomplished by the faithful and 
persevering use of the means of grace. The excite- 

.it may abate — may even die away; but still the 
regenerating and sanctifying influences of the Sj 
will continue, and if the appointed means are properly 
and faithfully used, the genuine work of revival will 
continue, like leaven, to spread and increase until the 
whole lump is leavened. 

2. If then there is nothing in the nature of a °enu- 
ine revival to prevent it from continuing inde 
we should like to know, in the second place, whether 
there is any tiling in the word of God to warrant us 
to conclude, that the Spirit of God. which is the pro- 



SPIRIT MAY BE GRIEVED AWAY. 97 

during cause of the revival, irill ever he icithdraion, if 
not willfully grieved away? Does God any where tell 
us, or intimate, m the scriptures, that under the New 
Testament dispensation, he will not give his Holy 
Spirit constantly, but that occasionally and at long in- 
tervals he will pour out that Spirit for a little season 
to continue three or four weeks, and then it shall be 
withdrawn for months and years ! If God does give 
his Spirit only at certain seasons, then of course it is 
his fault that our revivals are of seldom occurrence 
and short duration ! But we almost tremble to make 
this statement, for such a doctrine is evidently blas- 
phemous. The Bible contains no such doctrine, or in- 
timation. On the contrary has not the Savior pro- 
cured for us by his intercession, and promised to u?j 
the continued influence of the Holy Ghost? What 
does he say ? u And I will pray the Father, and he 
shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide 
with you forever." John xiv. IQ. This Comforter 
has come, and he has abode with his true church and 
people constantly ever since the day of Pentecost, and 
will continue with them until the end of time. Let 
us hear another scripture: "And it shall come to pass 
in the last days," (that is, under the gospel dispensa- 
tion,) said God, u I will pour out of my Spirit upon 
all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall 
prophecy, and your young men shall see visions, and 
your old men shall dream dreams : And on my ser- 
vants and on my hand-maidens I will pour out, in 
those days, of my Spirit; and they shall prophecy." 
Acts ii. 17, 18. Here the Spirit is promised, already 



yj5 CHRISTIAN'S ARE GUILTY WHERE A REVIVAL CEASES. 

in the prophecy of Joel, from which the apostle Peter 
quotes the words, and applies them to the case before 
him on the day of Pentecost : is there a single word 
or intimation that this Spirit shall ever be withdrawn? 
None. If then the influences of the blessed Spirit of 
God are vouchsafed to his church at all times, and we 
may always secure them, and it is by this means that 
genuine revivals are produced, who will yet contend 
that constant revivals are impossible ? We know in- 
deed that this Spirit may be grieved away, may be 
quenched; — that men may carry their resistance to 
his influences to such a length, that God will say to 
them, "My Spirit shall not always strive with man*," 
Gen. vi. 3, " Ephraim is joined to his idols : let him 
alone." Hos. iv. 17. "If thou hadst known, even 
thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong 
unto thy peace ! But now they are hid from thine 
e3'es." Luke xix. 42. But what we are now contend- 
ing for is, that God never withdraws the operations of 
his Spirit; unless men by voluntary, long-continued, 
and stubborn rebellion grieve him away. Hence they, 
and they alone, are the cause of his departure, and 
are guilty in the sis:ht of God. Hence said the mar- 
tvr Stephen, " Ye stiff-necked, and uncircumcised in 
heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: 
as your fathers did, so do ye." Acts vii. 51. The 
point then is certainly very clear, that the Holy Ghost 
is never withdrawn, unless he is willfully resisted, or 
grieved away. Equall}- clear is it, that a revival will 
continue as long as the influences of the Spirit are 



CHRISTIANS ARE GUILTY WHERE REVIVAL CEASES. 99 

continued ; that is, constantly, until the Holy Ghost is 
resisted by the people. 

We shall no doubt be told here^ that in every revi- 
val the Spirit is resisted, and in many entirely grieved 
away, and that therefore, according to our own show- 
ing, the work cannot continue. To this we reply that 
it does not affect the point now under discussion, viz: 
the possibility of constant revivals. The people need 
not resist the Spirit ; they ought not to do it, and if 
they do not, his operations will continue, and a con- 
stant revival is possible. And this is the very truth 
that we wish to fasten upon the conscience of the 
reader. We wish to lay a living coal of fire upon 
the heart of every saint and sinner just here, and say 
to him most emphatically and solemnly : Constant re- 
vivals are possible , God designs that they should be 
so, and gives his Spirit and continues his operations 
for this very purpose ; and where they are not, it is 
your fault ! We desire to say to every christian con- 
gregation, to saints and sinners, to pastor and people, 
where a revival has commenced, and a genuine work 
of grace is in progress, that revival may be continued, 
not for a few weeks only, but for years, constaiitly ; 
God wishes that it should be continued and will not 
fail ;o do his part, and if it is not continued — if it 
stop after a few weeks, and is succeeded by a dread- 
ful decline, by a reaction, as you call it, it will be your 
fault ! At your door the guilt will lie. You willfully, 
perseveringly, stubbornly resisted the Holy Ghost, 
and hence the work has ceased. 

We shall probably be met here by another objection 



100 soMe Revivals have been of 

to the doctrine of constant revivals; viz. that fads 
contradict it. The church, the objector will say, has 
been blest with many revivals in different ages, and 
none of them has been constant; and this is conclu- 
sive proof that they were never designed to be so* 
This objection, at first view, possesses a good degree 
of plausibility; but more mature reflection, and atten- 
tion to the sense in which we use the phrase, constant 
revival, will show that it is utterly fallacious. 

3. Hence, we wish to remark, in the third place, 
that there have been many most remarkable revivals in 
the churchy lohich have, in one sense, almost liter ally 
been constant and unending. 

The great revival on the day of Pentecost contin- 
ued, though not in the same manner, yet in different 
forms and places, and under different modifications^ 
for some two or three hundred years after it first 
commenced at Jerusalem. Sparks of the holy fire 
which came down from heaven upon that day, were 
scattered, as by that u rushing mighty wind," almost 
over the known world, and by the labors of the apos- 
tles were, a few years afterwards, kindled into flames 
upon a thousand different altars. The gospel was 
preached, the same Spirit poured out, sinners were 
converted, and churches planted in almost every city 
and town of the vast empire of the Romans. In fact 
that same celestial flame is not extinguished yet, and 
never will be until the consummation of all things. 

The revival of true religion at the Reformation of 
the sixteenth century has also proved itself to be a 
constant one ; and we bless God, that we have reason 



LONG DURATION 101 

to believe that it is destined to continue until the whole 
world shall be brought to a knowledge of the truth. 
The successive revivals in Germany under the labors 
of Arndt, Spener, and Prancke were also of long- du- 
ration ; and although infidelity succeeded measurably 
in smothering the flame for a while, we rejoice to be 
assured that it has never been entirely extinguished, 
but it is latterly beginning to break out anew in many 
parts of the country where it was first kindled- The 
revivals commenced in England under the zealous la- 
bors of Wesley, Whitefield, Rowland Hill, and oth- 
ers, and which resulted in the spiritual reformation of 
the English church, and the establishment and wide 
extension of the Methodist Episcopal church, have 
also, in one sense, truly been constant ; yea, and they 
are still progressing gloriously, both in England and 
America, and seem destined to extend their influence 
over the world. 

But, what is more immediately in point, we have 
also known and read of individual congregations, 
which continued in a state, that might appropriately 
be called a constant revival, for a number of years. 
Such, for example, is said to have been the nourish- 
ing condition of the congregations of Richard Baxter, 
of John Brown of Haddington, and of Dr. Romaine 
of London, for many years. Such too we have known 
to be the case with congregations m this country 
among different orthodox denominations of christians. 
It would, for obvious reasons, be improper to mention 
names ; but we are personally acquainted with con- 
gregations which have enjoyed a state of revival unin- 



102 CONSTANT REVIVAL STATE POSSIBLE. 

terrupledly for a number of years. A lively slate of 
pioty has continued; christians have been active in 
every" s:ood Work, feeling and doinsr their duty ; the 
church was crowded Sabbath after Sabbath with at- 
tentive and devout worshippers, who were not foraret- 

i X 1 - 

ful hearers, but doers of the word ; almost every ser- 
mon was the means of awakening and converting- 
some souls ; there were always some anxious inquir- 
ers in the congregation, and almost avery prayer meet- 
ing* was an anxious meeting; the members generally 
were in earnest to work out their own salvation with 
fear and trembling, and were zealously laboring to 
brma: all others over v\hom they could exert anv in- 
fluence with them to the Savior and to heaven. Such 
consresratioiis truly are " the lio-ht of the world," "the 
salt of the earth,"' and as " cities set on a hill." The 
question is therefore put to rest. We may have a 
constant state of revival in our congregations, and we 
are surely guilty in the sight of God for not enjoying 
such a state uninterruptedly. There is deep and aw- 
• ful guilt where a congregation not only permits a gen- 
uine revival to die away, but a state of decline, of 
coldness and deadness to succeed. This, is so far from 
being a necessary consequence of the revival, that it 
is an awful abuse of the work. It is just as necessary 
and as much the duty of a whole congregation, to 
continue in a state of lively active piety at all times, 
as of an individual christian. And the one case is just 
as possible as the other. It is the duty of every 
christian constantly to " urow in ^race, and increase 
in the knowledge of the Lord and Savior, Jesus 



CONGREGATIONS MUST GROW IN GRACE. 103 

Christ?" — " to keep himself in the love of God?" — 
** to lay aside every weight and the sin that doth so 
easily beset him, and run with patience the race set 
before him?" — to strive to enter in at the strait gate?" 
Is this the duty of the individual christian, and is it 
possible for him to perform it ? and is not the same 
true of the whole congregation, since it is composed 
of individual christians? We suppose no one will 
contend that it is impossible for an individual chris- 
tian " to walk with God" as Enoch did ; and why 
then should it be impossible for a number of chris- 
tians, or a whole congregation to do so? But the ar- 
gument is conclusive; it is not necessary that we 
should pursue it any farther. A state of constant re- 
vival is both possible and practicable, and every 
christian ought constantly to aim at it, and labor and 
pray for it. Would that we could awaken the whole 
church to the importance of this subject. May God 
in great mercy send us constant, ever continuing, all 
conquering revivals throughout the entire American 
churches, and the world ! May the work commence 
and never cease until millenial glory shall beam upon 
us, and the triumphant anthem roll over the whole 
earth : " The kingdoms of this world, have become 
the kingdoms of the Lord and his Christ!" Amen. ■ 



CHAPTER VI. 

u NEW MEASURES" u OLD MEASURES." MEANS TO BE 

EMPLOYED FOR THE PROMOTION OF REVIVALS. 

There has, for some years, been much useless and 
injurious controversy in some parts of the church, on 
the subject of (so called) old and new measures. This 
has been true particularly in connection with revivals 
of religion, and hence claims a brief notice at our 
hands. Friends and brethren even have in some in- 
stances, been estranged, and arrayed themselves in 
opposing parties under the name of new and old mea- 
sure men ! By some, revivals of religion, and every 
thing connected with them, have been classed among 
new measures, and, without further examination, have 
been unceremoniously opposed and condemned on 
this ground alone! No matter how many souls are 
converted, and how great the amount of good accom- 
plished by them, they are new measures, and there- 
fore must be opposed ! Now is not this a most fool- 
ish and sinful course of conduct, deserving the sever- 
est and most decided rebukes of all good men ? The 
phrase " new measures" has been employed by such 
men to signify useless and injurious innovations upon 
venerable and well established customs and usages : 
and in their view revivals, and all the means employ- 



ftO STICKLER FOR MEASURES. 100 

ed to promote them, are such innovations and foster 
a spirit of enthusiasm and wild-fire, and hence they 
suppose they are doing God a service by exerting* all 
their influence against them. We trust we have 
already proved satisfactorily that this objection is 
unfounded in truth, and that genuine revivals are the 
work of God's Holy Spirit, and that opposition to 
them, is really opposition to God himself; and here 
we are willing to permit this part of the subject to 
rest. 

On the other hand, it cannot be denied, that some, 
who styled themselves new measure men, have gone 
to the other extreme. They have as unceremoniously 
condemned all, and endeavored to stigmatize them as 
old measure men, who did not just agree, and go all 
lengths with them in their wild notions. By old mea- 
sure men these persons mean all unconverted, cold- 
hearted formalists in religion, who have grasped the 
shadow and missed the substance— who have a name 
to live but are dead. Hence it has come to pass that 
some of the most prudent, pious, and worthy men in 
the church, who hesitated to adopt all that passed 
for new measures have been called old measure men, 
that is, unconverted, cold-hearted formalists, who are 
opposed to the progress of true piety and the spiri- 
tual interests of the Redeemer's kingdom ! Now it 
is clear that both these classes of persons are ultra 
in their views, and that the whole controversy has 
now turned upon a mutual misunderstanding and mis- 
apprehension of the phrase new measures, and hence 
ought to be immediately abandoned. There have 



106 NO STICKLER FOR MEASURES. 

indeed always been two sorts or classes of persons 
in the church ; viz. the converted and the unconvert- 
ed, the true christian and the hypocrite, the warm- 
hearted, active, zealous believer, and the cold, sleep- 
ing, dead formalist, the friends and enemies of ex- 
perimental piety and genuine revivals. But we deny 
that the distinction of old and new measure men 
properly designates these two classes. All the so- 
called old measure men are not unconverted and op- 
posed to experimental religion ; nor are all who favor 
what they call new measures the pious, sincere, and 
devoted disciples of the Master whom they profess 
to be. Just the contrary is in many cases the truth. 
Some of the most intelligent, devoted, and active 
ministers of Christ have been styled old measure men, 
and others who would almost fight for what they call 
new measures are undoubtedly hypocrites. "We do 
therefore most positively and decidedly oppose this 
attempt to divide the church into old and new measure 
parties. It sets up unjust and unscriptural tests, and 
causes bickerings, heart-burnings, and divisions which 
are sinful and injurious. We go farther. We object 
altogether to the use of the phrases old and new mea- 
sures, as watch-words in this controversy. They are 
in the mouth of every person, and they mean — what? 
An echo answers what. Perhaps no two individuals 
use them to mean precisely the same thing. Away 
then with such unmeaning, ambiguous, and strife- 
creating watch-words from the christian church. We, 
for ourselves, shall never admit this distinction, nor 
consent to be identified with either of these parties. 



THE OEJECT OF THE TRUE CHRISTIAN. 107 

Should the question therefore be asked, " are you an 
old, or a new measure man ?'" we reply unequivocally, 
we are neither, and we do not admit the correctness 
or justice of the distinction. Are we asked again, 
" are you then in favor of old, or of new measures ?" 
we reply again, we are in favor of both, and indeed 
of all other measures, in so far as they are scriptural 
and good, and meet with the approbation and blessing 
of God in the conversion and salvation of souls. In 
fact we are no stickler for measures at all. Any 
measures which God approves and blesses suit us. 
We have one great and glorious object in view, of 
which we endeavor never to lose sight, and to the ac- 
complishment of this object we seek to make every 
thing bend. This object is the regeneration and sanc- 
tification of souls; the bringing of men from darkness 
to light, and from the power of sin and Satan unto 
God. For this solely we wish to labor and pray, 
strive and toil, and exert every energy of body and 
mind, and if this grand and glorious object be only 
accomplished to the utmost possible extent, we care 
but little by what means. We shall never quarrel 
with any christian about external modes ; for we do 
believe that in all non-essentials — in all forms and 
ceremonies which are not distinctly defined in the 
word of God, " the liberty wherewith Christ hath 
made us free," permits us to do as we please, and as 
circumstances may dictate. We think the language of 
every christian ought to be, "I am determined by the 
grace of God to go to heaven myself, and to take as 
many others with me, as I possibly can. I am willing to 



108 NEW DISCOVERIES ARE DAILY MADE. 

adopt any wise and good measures to win souls to 
Christ — willing, in a certain sense to " become all 
tliiags to all men, if by any means I might gain some." 
If the controversy were about any thing essential 
to the salvation of men — if any prominet doctrine of 
the scriptures were involved in the issue, or a new 
gospel were about to be introduced, then it would be- 
come our duty "to contend earnestly for the faith 
once delivered to the saints;" but as long as it is 
about mere non-essential modes and forms, it is sure- 
ly both a sin and a shame for brethren to fall out by 
the way, and turn those weapons against each other, 
which should be employed only against the common 
enemy. That new discoveries in science should tend 
to modify our interpretation of parts of the scriptures, 
and new modes and ceremonies should be introduced 
into the external management of religious institutions 
and the affairs of the church, is surely neither strange 
nor remarkable. The world, at the present day, and 
especially our own country, is full of new inventions, 
improvements, and innovations of every kind. Every 
class of societ} r — every department of labor — the 
arts, sciences, and education are all blessed, or per- 
haps sometimes cursed with them. The march of 
knowledge and of the human mind is onward, and a 
thousand new discoveries are made, experiments 
tried, old systems exploded, and new ones establish- 
ed upon their ruins. Rail-roads, steam-boats, patent 
inventions, and labor-saving machines, as well as 
improved systems of philosophy, science, education, 
and politics, are among the new things of the day. 



IT IS FOOLISH TO OPPOSE EVERY THING NEW. 109 

Now it is plain that some of these new measures are 
not better than the old ones; often not as good, and 
after a short existence have to give way again to 
them. Yet no man in his senses would oppose every 
thing which is new, or try to arrest the spirit of in- 
quiry and improvement of which it is indicative. It 
is evident also that this spirit, so universally perva- 
ding the American people, will manifest itself in their 
religion and religious institutions; nor can you, with- 
out the most serious injury to the cause of God, with 
a blind and superstitious zeal for old fashions and cus- 
toms, even attempt an indiscriminate opposition. On 
the contrary, you must take the world as it is ; fall in 
with the spirit of the age ; endeavor to discriminate 
well between the good and the evil ; and exert all 
your influence that the good may prevail and the evil 
be checked. You dare not attempt to oppose the 
waves of popular commotion altogether, or they will 
soon swallow you up ; but you must launch out upon 
them, and taking advantage of every favorable breeze, 
you must endeavor to direct men in the way the} r 
should go. The man therefore, who opposes every 
thing that is new in religion, simply because it is new, 
deserves to be greatly pitied for his ignorance and 
stupidity. 

But many of those measures in the management of 
religious affairs which are called new, at the present 
day, are as old as the church itself. Some call revi- 
vals new measures. But we have already shown that 
they have existed in all ages both of the Jewish and 
christian churches. There were scenes of religious 



110 new measures; sab-batb schools. 

excitement in the days of Moses, Joshua, Samuel* 
Elijah, Ezra, David, and John, Christ, Peter, Paul, 
and of Luther, Spener, Wesley, Whitefield, and in 
our own country, of Edwards, the Tennets, Payson, 
and thousands of others, which all resembled each 
other, and may appropriately be called revivals. 
Some call Sabbath-Schools new measures. And we 
all know that in their present form they are of com- 
paratively recent origin. Are they any the less useful 
and important on this account ? What is- their object? 
It is the religious education of youth. And is this a 
new measure? Do we not hear good old Moses, 
already giving command in reference to the instruc- 
tion of children in the doctrines of religion ? 4C All 
these words which I command thee this day, shall be 
in thine heart : And thou shalt teach them diligently 
unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou 
sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the 
way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest 
up." Deut. vi. 6 — 7. The Jews, in their better and 
more prosperous days, were in fact remarkably dili- 
gent and careful in the religious instruction of their 
youth. And as to the mode, the above passage seems 
to give great latitude; and it is surely both absurd 
and sinful to quarrel about the mode, be it by the use 
of old or new measures, if the great object is only 
successfully accomplished. W r e also hear the blessed 
Savior giving the interesting and important command. 
"Feed my lambs," to the apostle Peter, under the 
most solemn circumstances, without defining the mode 
by which he was to do it. Surely under these cir- 



BIBLE, TRACT, EDTICAT. AND MISsV SOCIETIES. Ill 

cumstances the church is at liberty to adopt any wise 
and good measures, old or new, if only the lambs of 
the flock are fed. And what means are better calcu- 
lated to do this than Sabbath Schools ? Does not that 
man manifest a most shameful degree of ignorance and 
stupidity who opposes Sabbath-Schools because they 
are among the new measures of the day ? 

Some call Bible, Tract, Education and Missionary 
Societies new measures, and oppose them on this 
ground. But are they not still the very means which 
God employs and blesses to the extension of his king- 
dom over the world, and the salvation of tens of 
thousands of souls ? Is it not by means of these so- 
cieties that the churches are going into all the world, 
and preaching the gospel to every creature ? These 
societies in their present organization are new; but 
they are accomplishing the very object for which 
the kingdom of Christ was established upon earth. 
Shall we oppose them and tear them to pieces be- 
cause they are classed among new measures ? Tem- 
perance societies are new measures. And yet every 
friend of man must acknowledge that their object is 
good; that they have been instrumental in saving 
thousands and tens of thousands from the shame, 
crimes, miseries, grave, and hell of the drunkard. 
Then why oppose them ? O because they are new 
measures ! But Paul in his day already declares, " It 
is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine 
nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is 
offended, or is made weak." Rom. xiv. 21. But in 
our day the drinking of wine, or any other intoxi- 



112 MEANS TO PROMOTE REVIVALS. 

eating liquor, is the means by which thousands upon 
thousands of our brethren are made to stumble, to be- 
come offended, and weak ; are we not then bound by 
every tie of humanity and love for their bodies and 
souls to abstain entirely from the use of that which 
does them this great injury? Otherwise are we not 
instrumental by our example in leading them to do 
that by which their bodies are killed, and their souls 
damned ? O what multitudes stumble, become offen- 
ded, and are made weak by the example of professed 
christians even ! How such persons " let their light 
shine before men!" Alas! their light is all darkness; 
but they are opposed to new measures, and therefore 
must oppose the Temperance cause ! ! 

But no doubt some of our readers will be impatient 
to hear what means we recommend to be employed for 
the promotion of revivals, and then they will know 
whether to approve or condemn us. Well, we shall 
be very candid ; and yet we are not certain that we 
have any thing that is at all new to propose on the 
subject. 

1. But the first means to be employed for the pro- 
motion of genuine revivals of religion, is the constant 
2^lain, practical and faithful preaching of the gospel. 
This is emphatically the grand means which God 
himself has appointed for the conversion of the world. 
No other institution or means, which is calculated to 
supplant or supersede this, can prosper or be inno- 
cently employed. Prominence must ever be given to 
this institution, and if faithfully employed, God will 
always own and bless it to the salvation of men. But 



FAITHFUL PREACHING. 113 

in order to this the preaching must ever be of the right 
kind. The preacher must himself be a truly conver- ' 
ted and deeply pious man. God never called an un- 
converted man into the ministry. Thousands. of such 
have rushed into it uncalled, but it was against the 
will of God. He that would lead sinners to Christ 
must have experienced the power of vital godliness 
in his own soul, and been made experimentally ac- 
quainted with the way of salvation through a cruci- 
fied Redeemer. The sacred fire of divine love must 
have been kindled in his own soul by the Holy Ghost, 
and by much prayer and communion with God, must 
be kept constantly and vigorously burning. If this 
qualification be wanting, he must be a u blind leader 
of the blind." All other attainments are compara- 
tively useless without this. Still it is not the only 
qualification — many others are indispensable to the 
greatest success, and it is no part of our plan to dis- 
cuss them here — but deep personal piety is the first, 
the greatest, and the most important. 

Such is the revival preacher. How must he 'preach ? 
From the heart, " as a dying man to dying men," in 
view of the great judgment day. He must "preach 
the word; be instant in season, out of season; re- 
prove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doc- 
trine." 2 Tim. iv. 2. He must preach u the word," 
the whole word, and nothing but the word of God. 
The gospel; not rhetoric, philosophy, and moral 
essays — not incomprehensible metaphysics, or schol- 
astic subtleties — not "foolish questions," and angry 
controversies — not human creeds and sectarian dog- 



114 FAITHFUL PREACHINGS 

mas — not cold, lifeless,, heartless homilies; but the 
gospel, warm, pure, and holy as it came from heaven — 
Jesus Christ and him crucified as the centre and sul>- 
stance of the law and the gospel ; as the sun of the 
whole system of divine truth. All his subjects must 
be radiant with the glory which beams from the 
cross, and then he can scarcely fail to win souls — 
then his " thoughts will glow, and his words will 
burn," and sinners will be converted. He must preach 
constantly; " in season, out of season ;" seize favorable 
times and opportunities^ if they present themselves \ 
if not, take unfavorable ones. Preach you must, and 
that constantly. Let not your efforts be divided among 
half a dozen or more congregations, but concentrate 
them, if possible, upon one or two. Preach con- 
stantly ; on the Sabbath and in the week ; in the pul- 
pit and from house to house, by precept and example. 
Preach plainly and simply, so that you are sure those 
of least capacity understand you, and then you will 
not fail to instruct and edity all. Preach practical 
sermons; not cold, long, dry, soul-starving doctrinal 
discussions on the one hand ; nor mere ranting decla- 
mation, and foaming, furious, fiery exhortation, with- 
out substance or sense, on the other : but the deep 
and solid truths of the Bible, the marrow of the gos- 
pel in a practical manner. Instruct and enlighten the 
understanding and convince the intellect, and then 
touch, electrify the passions, and thus irresistibly 
move the heart. Dip the arrows of your quiver in 
the blood of the Lamb, and then take sure aim, and 
beseeching God for the influence of the Spirit, you 



PROTRACTED MEETINGS. 115 

will preach with demonstration and power. Preach 
faithfully. Keep back no part of the truth from fear, 
favor, or regard to men's opinions. Preach the law 
and the gospel just as they are — add nothing, subtract 
nothing. Cast no part into the shade through your 
preference for another, or by presenting one side or 
subject to the neglect of another of equal or greater 
importance. Do not smooth down the bold and pro- 
minent features of the word, or blunt the edge of 
" the sword of the Spirit" by the oil of rhetoric, or 
the tinsel and ornament of imagination ; and on the 
contrary, make no rough places where the gospel is 
smooth. In a word, always remember that you stand 
between Almighty God and never-dying souls, and are 
his mouth to men, and so preach each sermon, as if it 
were your last before meeting your hearers at the 
judgment bar. Thus preach, and souls will be con- 
verted, sanctified, and saved. Such is revival preach- 
ing, and it cannot fail, by the power of that Spirit, 
which ever accompanies God's word faithfully admin- 
istered, to promote genuine revivals. 

2. Protracted meetings have been eminently blessed 
to the promotion of genuine revivals. The pastor 
and the officers of his congregation agree upon a time 
when they will set apart a few days, or a whole week 
or more, as a season of special prayer, preaching, and 
effort for the conversion of sinners and the salvation 
of souls. Several neighboring clergymen are invit- 
ed to assist. The time appointed arrives, and the 
meeting is commenced, and several sermons a day 
are preached, prayer-meetings and other exercises 



116 PROTRACTED MEETINGS. 

held during its continuance. The seed sown is co- 
piously watered by the prayers of believers. Chris- 
tians are exhorted to dedicate themselves anew to the 
Lord, to aim at higher attainments in the divine life, 
to be more fervent and importunate in prayer, and to 
make renewed and more zealous efforts for the imme- 
diate conversion of souls. Backsliders are warned 
of their danger, and earnestly entreated to return to 
their forsaken God ; and impenitent sinners are sol- 
emnly urged to nee from the wrath to come, and iwi- 
mediately to accept the offers of mercy made them 
through Jesus Christ. Such meetings properly con- 
ducted, never fail to be highly useful to the members 
of the congregation in which they are held, and in 
many instances are followed by glorious revivals of 
religion. And why should it not be so ? Here are 
used the very means which God himself has appoint- 
ed and promised to bless : prayer, preaching of the 
word, and individual effort. The meetings are so fre- 
quently held, that good impressions produced by one 
sermon have not time to be effaced or die away until 
they are followed up and deepened by another. The 
sinner who has succeeded in stifling his convictions, 
and grieving away the Spirit of God for a long time, 
when he heard a sermon only once a week, or once 
in several weeks, has not time given him now to do 
this work of death to his own soul. If he can be in- 
duced to attend the meetings and <rive attention to the 
word, he almost involuntarily becomes an awakened, 
anxious inquirer, and is led to the foot of the. cross to 
sue for pardon and salvation. 



PROTRACTED MEETINGS. 



117 



We have however, several more specific sugges- 
tions to offer on the subject of protracted meetings to 
which we invite attention. 

In the first place the way must be ivell prepared in 
the congregation in which the meeting is to be held, 
if success is to attend the effort. On this subject we 
may adopt the language of John the Baptist, the fore- 
runner of Christ, and say to the people who are about 
to hold a protracted meeting, very emphatically, 
" Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths 
straight." Matt. iii. 3. The way had to be prepared 
for the coming of the Lord then, and it must be pre- 
pared for his coming in our hearts and congregations 
now. Let no congregation suppose that God will 
send them success in a protracted meeting, if they do 
not prepare the way: they must wake up to their duty. 

We shall no doubt be asked what kind of prepara- 
tion is necessary, and hoio it is to be made ? We re- 
ply, first, there is an external or worldly preparation 
necessary. The members of the congregation must 
so arrange their temporal affairs, their worldly busi- 
ness, that they can attend the meetings, and give their 
influence and assistance. They should also endeavor 
to induce their families, relatives, friends and neigh- 
bors to attend, so that the house of God may be filled 
with attentive hearers of the word. u Faith cometh 
by hearing, and hearing by the word of God ;" but 
how can men hear, if they are not present when the 
gospel is preached ? It is of no use to hold a pro- 
tracted meeting in a congregation unless the members 
themselves attend, and exert themselves to induce all 



118 PROTRACTED MEETINGS. 

others, over whom they have any influence, to attend 
also. Still more, persons must not only attend the 
meetings, but also as much as possible, withdraw their 
attention from their worldly cares during the continu- 
ance of the meeting. A man may suspend his actual 
labors and employment, and still his mind may be so 
harassed and perplexed by worldly cares, that he can 
give but little attention to the subject of religion. 
The hours appointed for the meeting should be con- 
sidered consecrated, holy time, which is scrupulously 
devoted to God and his service. 

Again, there is a preparation of heart necessary 
among the members of the congregation. They must 
not only properly arrange their worldly affairs, and 
lay aside their cares and anxieties, but they must also 
carefully examine into their own spiritual condition. 
Every member should ask himself such questions as 
these: "Is it well with my soul? Am I growing in 
grace, and advancing in the divine life, as I should? 
Have I lived as near to my Lord and Savior, and en- 
joyed as much happiness in communion with him, as 
I might have done ? Am I as much concerned for the 
salvation of precious souls, and the extension of the 
Redeemer's kingdom as I should be ? Am I really 
answering the end of my being, and accomplishing 
the work for which God sent me into the world ?" 
A candid and serious self-examination of this kind, 
with devout prayer for the illumination of the Holy 
Ghost, will not fail to discover to each member his 
true condition in the sight of God. It will point out 
to him his remaining sins and short-comings, produce 



PROTRACTED MEETINGS. 119 

humility and contrition of soul, and lead him to con- 
fess his sins to God and implore pardon, and to dedi- 
cate himself anew to his service. He will see and 
feel the necessity of a revival in his own soul, and his 
earnest prayer will be, " O Lord revive thy work in 
my soul, and in the hearts of thy people :" Such a 
preparation of heart among the members of a congre- 
gation generally is itself a revival, and will soon ex- 
tend also to sinners. 

Further ; the real state of piety in the congregation 
and neighborhood must also be inquired into by the 
pastor and his people, so that the desirableness and 
necessity of a revival may be seen and felt. Christians 
should remember that they are : " The salt of the 
earth" — " The light of the world" — " A city set upon 
a hill, which cannot be hid !" Hence the light of 
every congregation should so shine, that the world, 
seeing their good works, may be led to glorify our 
Father who is in heaven. How can this be the case 
when all is cold, formal and dead in the church ? — 
When there scarcely seems to be a vestige of vital 
godliness remaining? Often is the religion of the 
Savior discredited, wickedness and infidelity increas- 
ed, and the congregation becomes a curse rather than 
a blessing to the community by its long continuance 
in such a sad state of decline. The members have 
not exhibited the power, beauty, and fruits of true pi- 
ety in their lives, and hence have belied their religion 
before the world. Now here the standard must be 
raised, formal professors wakened up, and an effort 
made to bring the church back to the state in which 



120 PROTRACTED MEETINGS. 

if. ought to be. But this cannot be done until its real 
condition is understood and made known. Nor should 
this examination be confined to the church. Christians 
should look beyond it, and inquire into the spiritual 
condition of their families, and their neighborhood. 
They should remember the value of precious souls, 
and that none can be saved without repentance and 
faith — that the present is their only day of grace, and 
that if it passes by unimproved, they must perish for- 
ever ! They should remember that an awful respon- 
sibility rests upon them, and that God will require the 
blood of souls at their hands, which perish through 
their neglect. Such an inquiry into the state of piety 
in a congregation and neighborhood will show the ne- 
cessity of a revival, and of renewed efforts for the sal- 
vation of men. It will create a strong desire for a work 
of grace, and lead to fervent prayer, and active zeal- 
ous labors that during the meeting the means may be 
owned and blessed, and the Spirit of God copiously 
poured out upon the people. The way must also be 
prepared by much fervent, importunate, believing 
prayer. Prayer is the grand means appointed to ob- 
tain the blessing of the Holy Spirit. When God 
was about to revive Israel and restore them to a state 
of prosperity and happiness, after their return from 
captivity, he used this language: " Then will I sprinkle 
clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean : from all 
your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse 
you. A new heart also wiil I give you, and a new 
spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the 
stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you an 



PROTRACTED MEETINGS. 121 

heart of flesh." God declares that he will do this, 
that it is his work, and further adds, " Thus saith the 
Lord God, I will yet for this be inquired of by the 
house of Israel to do it for them." Ez. xxvi. 25, 26, 
37. As if he had said, the great work of restoring 
you, and making you a better and more pious people 
belongs to me — I alone can do it , but you must de- 
sire it and pray for it : "I will yet be inquired of 
by you to do it for you!" This ever has been, and 
still is God's plan. Christians must remember this. 
Revival work is God's work, but he will not do it, 
without the proper and faithful use of the appointed 
means, and especially prayer, by his people. Hence 
also the Savior has said, M Ask, and it shall be given 
you ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be 
opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiv- 
eth; and he that seeketh fincleth ; and to him that 
knocketh it shall be opened.* * If ye then being evil, 
know how to give good gifts unto your children, how 
much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy 
Spirit to them that ask him." Luke xi. 9, 10, \S. O 
what fervent believing prayer there should be among 
the members of a congregation in which a protracted 
meeting is about to be held ! They need not expect 
a revival without this. 

Again ; the preaching at a protracted meeting must 
be of the right kind if a genuine revival is to be the 
result. It must be timely, suited to the capacities and 
wants of the people, and the occasion and circum- 
stances of the case. Ministers upon such occasions 
need, in a very especial manner, that wisdom which 



122 PROTRACTED MEETINGS. 

cometh from above, that they may know what and 
how to preach — that they may be wise to win souls. 
They should be made acquainted with the character 
and condition of the people, and select their subjects 
and present the truth accordingly. Their own hearts 
must be prepared and be fully in the work. If such 
preparations, as we have described, have been made 
in the congregation, and the holy fire has already been 
kindled and commenced to burn among the people, 
there must be a corresponding preparation in the hearts 
of the preachers who attend and conduct the meetings. 
At the commencement of the meeting the members of 
the church, professed christians, should be particular- 
ly addressed ; because the revival must commence among 
them. It is absurd to suppose that the work should 
begin among sinners, while christians are all asleep. 
Hence the first object should be to arouse professors 
to diligent self-examination, earnest prayer, renewed 
dedication of themselves to God, and zealous efforts 
for the conversion of souls. In short the first two or 
three sermons should aim at producing the preparation 
above described ; for notwithstanding its obvious im- 
portance and necessity, there are always some in ev- 
ery congregation, who will neglect it until the com- 
mencement of the meeting. 

After this the preaching must be directed also to 
the unconverted, and must be of an awakening, con- 
vincing character. It must be eminently revival 
preaching; such as we have already described. The 
minister ought to insist upon the eternal importance 
of immediate repentance and submission to God ; but 



PROTRACTED MEETINGS. 123 

hot without showing men, as intelligent creatures, the 
reasonableness and necessity of the duty. Every false 
excuse and refuge of lies must be swept away from 
the sinner, and his guilt and danger must be set before 
him. Ministers must give themselves wiiolly to the 
work during the meeting. We have sometimes been 
at. protracted meetings, where the intervals between 
the stated hours for worship were so much occupied 
by light and trifling conversation among the clergymen 
present as to leave them neither time nor inclination 
for meditation or private prayer, and consequently to 
unfit them entirely for the discharge of their duties* 
This is certainly highly sinful in the sight of God, 
and must have a most injurious effect upon the meet- 
ing. Much more might be said as to the manner of 
conducting protracted meetings, but we do not wish 
to be tedious. The hints here thrown out will have 
their desired effect if carefully pondered, in leading- 
persons to reflect upon the subject. 

3. Catechetical Instructions are eminently calcula- 
ted to promote genuine revivals. — The object of these 
instructions is not, as many very erroneously imagine, 
merely to impart knowledge, teach the doctrines of 
the catechism and the church, and thus in a sort of 
mechanical way> to make church members ; but it is 
to awaken and convert sinners and bring them to Je 
sus Christ. That some unconverted ministers have 
abused this blessed and venerable institution, making it 
a kind of machine to add members as unconverted as 
themselves to their congregations, cannot be denied ; 
but this surely is no valid objection to the institution it- 



124 CATECHETICAL INSTRUCTIONS, 

self. It only proves that this, like almost every other 
good thing, may be misapplied and abused. Some un- 
converted men have preached the gospel and adminis- 
tered all the ordinances of the church from improper 
motives — have misapplied the most sacred institutions 
of religion to purposes of self-aggrandizement; but 
we do not condemn religion and its ordinances for this 
abuse. So catechetical instructions are good, and in 
the hands of evangelical and pious ministers have been 
the means of the conversion of thousands and tens of 
thousands of souls. The writer is acquainted with 
men, living and dead, who, during the course of a long 
and laborious ministry, usually instructed several class- 
es of catechumens every year, and almost always had 
a revival of more or less extent, (though probably not 
called by this name,) when these persons were added 
to the church. These men made the catechetical lec- 
ture room, a room of prayer, inquiry, and a very Bethel 
to the souls of those attending. Their instructions 
were solid, thorough, and practical, and delivered 
with a sincerity, point, and application which could 
not fail to make lasting impressions. Their immediate 
object was the thorough conversion of those attending 
the lectures. These pastors do not confine themselves 
to the questions of the catechism, but enter into fami- 
liar conversations with the catechumens upon the sub- 
ject of a change of heart and experimental piety in 
general, and thus make their meetings a sort of in- 
quiry or class meetings, which can scarcely fail to 
produce the most happy results. 

The writer feels it his duty to record faithfully his 



CATECHETICAL INSTRUCTIONS* 125 

own testimony in favor of catechetical lectures. His- 
own experience is, that during the course of his min- 
istry, more souls have been converted in connection 
with these lectures and as the result of them, than in 
any other department of his labors. He has enjoyed 
a number of revivals^ more or less extensive under hi& 
ministry, and the majority of them have commenced 
among his catechumens, and been the immediate result 
of these lectures- And we know this to be the ex- 
perience of many of the most efficient and successful 
ministers of Christ who have pursued this plan. 

We do not pretend to say that these instructions, 
even when most faithful, will in every individual case 
result in the conversion of those who attend them* 
No, there will always be some, as there are under the 
most faithful preaching of the gospel, in the class 
meeting, and in every revival, who will pass through 
the whole course unconverted. But even among such 9 
experience has shown, that when the instructions have 
been faithful, in a majority of cases the foundation i& 
laid for their future conversion. The seed has been 
sown, has taken deep root, and though it may lie dor- 
mant for years, it wnll at last spring up and bear fruit 
to the glory of God. 

There is another remark to be made in reference 
to these instructions. It is this, that the cases of 
conversion which result from them are always more 
genuine and thorough. It cannot be mere animal 
excitement with those who. have been made well 
acquainted with the doctrines of the Bible by cate- 
chising. They are well grounded in the truth, and 



126 SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 

therefore know what they are doing. When tbev 
become awakened and anxious about their souls, it 
is not from mere fright or sympathy, but it is from a 
deep and rational conviction of their sinfulness and 
danger, produced by the Spirit of God in the appli- 
cation of the truth which they have learned. There 
are much fewer cases of spurious excitement, and 
consequently of falling away afterwards among such 
persons, than among those who have had no such in- 
structions. Thev more usuailv remain firm, and be- 

• ml 

come active, zealous, and enlightened christians and 
ornaments, often pillars, in the church of Christ. — 
2s o pastor therefore who is anxious to promote gen- 
uine revivals ought to neglect so important and blessed 
a means. We exceedingly regret that, in these latter 
days, some men, who wish to be regarded as amongst 
the foremost in advocating and promoting revivals, 
have manifested a disposition to set aside and neglect 
catechetical instructions. We admire the zeal of many 
such brethren, but cannot think that it is according to 
knowledge. These lectures mav be an old measure 
in their opinion, but they are one of those measures, 
which in faithful hands, improves by age. It is the 
glory of those churches in which it has been properly 
employed. We hesitate not to say that the pastor 
who is zealous and faithful in his catechetical instruc- 
tions, may, under the ordinary blessing of God, ex- 
pect a genuine revival, whenever he prepares a class 
for confirmation. 

4. Sunday Schools are another means for promoting 
genuine revivals closely allied to catechetical instruc- 



SUNDAY. SCHOOLS, 127 1 

lions. The utility and great importance of these in- 
stitutions are now so extensively felt and so generally 
appreciated, that it may seem superfluous to say any 
thing in vindication of them. It is believed that their 
influen.ce upon the American churches, and through 
them upon the world, is at this day more powerful 
and extensive than that of any other instrumentality 
employed by them, 

Yet while this seems to be generally seen and ac- 
knowledged, we are under the impression that the 
immediate and powerful agency of Sunday Schools in 
promoting genuine revivals has not been so fully ap- 
preciated. Christians have believed that the good 
seed of gospel truth sown in the j^outhful mind in the 
Sabbath School would produce fruit at some future 
time; but in many, perhaps we ought to say, in a great 
majority of instances, they seem to have failed to ex- 
pect, labor, and pray for immediate results in the con- 
version of the children. And yet what is the history 
of revivals in connection with Sunday Schools? It 
is that many of the most extensive and powerful com- 
menced in Sabbath Schools, and frequently a large 
number of the subjects, sometimes nearly all of them, 
were or had been Sabbath Scholars. We can add 
our testimony here, that especially in one of the most 
extensive and blessed revivals which God ever sent 
us, nearly all the teachers, and a number of the larger 
scholars in the Sunday School were" subjects. 

Indeed Sabbath School instructions, if properly and 
faithfully given, are the very means to prepare the 
wsy for a revival ? and we hesitate not to remark, 



128 BOOKS AND TRACTS. 

without fear of successful contradiction, that a care- 
ful examination would show, that the multitudes of re- 
vivals, which have blessed the American churches for 
a number of years past, might be traced, among other 
means, to the influence of Sabbath Schools. Then? 
may we look for a constant state of revival in the 
churches, when Sabbath School instructions have be- 
come so universal and faithful, that all shall know the 
Lord from the least to the greatest — when these in- 
structions shall be given with the design-, the earnes: 
expectation, the fervent prayer that they may result 
in the conversion of those to whom they are given. 

5, The circulation of Tracts and Books on practical 
piety has also been found a blessed means to promote 
genuine revivals. A time of revival is always a time 
of inquiry among the people. Almost all persons be- 
come anxious to hear and read on religious subjects; 
and if the truth is not within their reach, they will lay 
hold of error. Old and young, saint and sinner, the 
devoted christian and the formalist, the backslider, 
the hypocrite, the awakened soul, and the young con- 
vert, all want instruction, and will read then what 
they would not at any other time. Consequently it 
becomes our sacred duty not only to furnish proper 
and faithful instructions from the pulpit, but also books 
and tracts which can be read in the retirement of the 
domestic circle and the closet. 

Do we find it necessary and important, in times of 
revival, to call in the aid of neighboring clergymen? — 
by means of tracts and books we can obtain the assis- 
tance of Bfanv of &e ablest and bezt men that ever 




BOOKS AND TRACTS, 129 

lived. For their best and most powerful efforts were 
put forth in the production of those books which they 
have left behind, and by which, "being dead, they 
yet speak!" Here we can call upon the venerable 
Arndt to come to our help in the German language, 
and in his " True Christianity" he will tell every sin- 
cere inquirer what true religion is, and how it is to 
be obtained, We can ask Baxter, in his serious and 
solemn manner, to " Call" upon the unconverted and 
urge them. to flee from the wrath to come, and Alleine 
to sound his tremendous " Alarm" in their slumbering 
ears. Doddridge can be called in to explain to us 
the "Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul;" 
Bunyan to show us the " Pilgrim's Progress" from the 
city of destruction, through difficulties, dangers, and 
trials, to heaven and eternal happiness; and Baxter to 
unfold to our astonished views, " The Saint's Ever- 
lasting Rest." Pike can be invited to " Persuade to 
Early Piety," and " Guide young Disciples;" James 
to direct the " Anxious Inquirer;" and Abbot to lead 
on the " Young Christian." O what a host of revival 
preachers, some living and some dead, we can thus 
summon to our aid ! And these preachers will remain 
with us constantly, will visit our lanes and alleys, high 
ways and hedges, our family circles and our closets. 
They are always upon the spot, and in moments of 
sober reflection, calm reason, and devout meditation, 
can most successfully preach the word. O what 
errors they can correct, what doubts remove, what 
consolation impart! Who would not avail himself of 
such valuable assistance in the promotion of genuine 



130 PRAYER-MEETINdS. 

revivals? The above, and many other invaluable 
works, are published by that noble institution, the 
u American Tract Society," and systematic efforts are 
now made to distribute them by thousands and tens of 
thousands throughout the entire United States. 

6. Social Prayer -Meetings are indispensable to the 
promotion and keeping up of genuine revivals, The 
first great revival that God ever sent upon the Chris- 
tian Church, and which resulted in the conversion of 
three thousand souls in one day, and the firm estab- 
lishment of that church, commenced in a -prayer-meet- 
ing. We need scarcely add that we refer to the out- 
pouring of the Holy Spirit upon the day of Pente- 
cost. We are distinctly informed that the hundred 
and twenty disciples continued in prayer and supplica- 
tion in their upper room at Jerusalem from day to day 
until they received the promised blessing. Yea, they 
were actually engaged, with one accord, in this so- 
cial prayer-meeting, when the Spirit was sent down 
upon them. Indeed we believe, that there cannot be 
a revival, without prayer-meetings. A genuine revi* 
val will convert the assembled congregation into a 
prayer-meeting. If professed christians will not pray 
at such times, awakened sinners will, and will com- 
mence prayer-meetings too. They are the very at- 
mosphere of revivals. It is in these meetings, that 
persons make known their wants to God, unburden 
their cares, confess their sins, and implore pardon. 
It is here that they feel at home^ and approach into 
the very audience chamber of the King of kings, and 
Lord of lords. 



PRAYER-MEETINGS. 131 

Prayer-meetings are especially important in keep- 
ing up a revival. They keep alive the flame of true 
piety in the hearts of christians ; strengthen the weak; 
establish the doubting; direct the inquiring; comfort 
the mourner ; succor the tempted ; and tend eminent- 
ly to keep all near to their Savior. The awakened 
sinner will almost instinctively resort to the prayer- 
meeting. There is no danger that a genuine work 
of grace will ever cease in a congregation, as long as 
the prayer-meetings are regularly, zealously, and faith- 
fully kept up several times a week. No sad decline, 
or dreadful reaction will ever be seen or felt as long 
as this is done. Very few cases of falling away or 
backsliding will ever occur among those who regu- 
larly attend the prayer-meetings. 

There ought to be at least three prayer-meetings a 
week in every christian congregation ; — one male, one 
female, and one general prayer-meeting. Let the gen- 
eral meeting be held, say, on Wednesday evening, and 
then let all attend and join devoutly in all the exer- 
cises; — let the Pastor conduct this meeting; first de- 
livering a short practical lecture, and then calling up- 
on a number of the brethren, to lead in prayer. Let 
him vary his subjects from time to time, and always 
come so prepared, in head and heart, that by the 
grace of God, he may always be able to present 
something to instruct, to interest, to profit and build 
up his people. Dont let him come unprepared week 
after week to make a few common place remarks, or 
he will soon put an end to the most interesting revi- 
val, rock his people all soundly and comfortably to 
sleep, and thin out, or entirely break up his meetings. 



132 PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

The male prayer-meeting can be held on some even- 
ing in the week, or if that be inconvenient, on Sunday 
morning before church. Let this meeting be held in 
the Lecture room, or in some private house. Let the 
members of the church council, and all the male 
members, old and young, who possibly can, attend 
this meeting. Don't expect or ask the pastor to at- 
tend it, unless he chooses to do so ; and when he is 
present don't put upon him the labor of conducting the 
meeting, unless he wishes to do it. Let some five or 
six of the most pious and experienced men in the 
congregation be appointed to conduct these meetings 
alternately. Let the exercises be singing, prayer, 
reading a portion of Scripture, and if practicable one 
or more very short exhortations. Let brotherly love 
and christian fellowship be the governing principle in 
these meetings. Let all seek to " bear each other's 
burdens," and build each other up in the christian 
life. Let it be the earnest and prayerful effort of 
each member to contribute all in his power to make 
the meetings interesting and profitable to all who 
attend them. If any brother becomes cold, back- 
slides, or is overtaken in a fault, let the others do all 
in their power to reclaim and restore him in the spirit 
of kindness and love — converse with him, pray with 
him, and beseech him for God's sake to return imme- 
diately. Is any one sick, afflicted or in distress; let 
the rest visit him, and seek to minister to his wants. 
Let all attending this meeting be eminently a band of 
brethren, in whom there is no guile. Let each one 
try to get all the male members of the congregation 



F.RAYER-ME-ETING&. 133 

into this prayer-meeting; or if this would make the 
meeting- too large, let two or more of exactly the 
same character be formed in the congregation ; one 
among the old, and another among the young men. 
Whenever an individual is awakened under the 
preaching of the pastor, or by any other means, let 
him, if possible, and as soon as possible be added to 
this praying band. Let those of most experience 
visit him, converse and pray with him, and seek to 
induce him to attend the prayer-meeting. Other ex- 
ercises, such as relating personal experience, might 
occasionally be introduced into these meetings with 
very good effect, if carefully and judiciously done. 
Yet experience seems to teach that this should not be 
an ordinary feature of the meetings. Personal expe- 
rience often told becomes uninteresting, if it does not 
degenerate into egotism and hypocrisy. But if occa- 
sionally one and another of the members of the pray- 
er-meeting has experience of any special interest, it 
may assist greatly to strengthen and confirm others, if 
carefully and judiciously related. 

The same reasons that should induce every congre- 
gation to form such a male prayer-meeting as we have 
now endeavored to describe,, should induce them to 
form one of precisely the same kind among the fe- 
male members. They need it just as much, and their 
influence upon the congregation for good or evil is 
just as great. The female prayer-meeting ought, for 
obvious reasons, to be held, not in the evening, but in 
the day time : on some afternoon in the week. Let 
nil the pious females in the congregation meet to- 



1 34 ?RA YE R=ME ETI N 6 S . 

gether fn the lecture room, or in some private house 
and form themselves into a social prayer-meet 
Let no male member at all be present — not even their 
pastor, unless it he at first to organize their meeting, 
or afterwards by their unanimous request. They will 
feel under less restraint, and have more freedom m 
prayer when he is not at their meeting, Let a num- 
ber be appointed by mutual consent to conduct the 
meeting alternately; and let the exercises be singing, 
prayer, and reading a portion of God's word. Let 
all malice, pride, hypocrisy, evil speaking, and dis- 
tinction of rank or condition be laid aside and forgot- 
ten here; and let them meet as a band of christian 
sisters, ^iven to the Lord and his service. Thev must 
forget each other's faults, bear each others burdens, 
and meet to build each other up in the Lord. Their 
meetings must be private, and never be made the sub- 
ject of conversation afterwards. Let no long-tongued, 
mischief-making gossip be found among the number. 
If there be one who cannot bridle her tongue, let her 
be unanimously voted out of the meeting. Let it be 
the determination of each member to contribute her 
part to make every meeting interesting and profitable. 
Let every awakened sinner, or new convert among 
the females of the congregation be united to this 
praying band of sisters as soon as possible ; and let 
every thing in their power be done for the good of 
souls, the welfare of their congregation, and the ex- 
tension of the Redeemer's kingdom. Tract distribu- 
tion and visitation, and other benevolent christian ef- 
forts might be united with this meeting, 



PRAYER-MEETINGS. 135 

With regard to these prayer-meetings we have yet 
to remark in general, "that all things must be done 
decently and in order." They should be held once a 
week and at such time and place as is most conveni- 
ent for all who attend them. The exercises should 
always be full of life and interest, truly spiritual and 
devout; but never noisy, or marred by extravagance 
or disorder. Let there be no long, drawling piayers, 
cold enough to freeze up every avenue of the soul, 
and quench every spark of true piety. Let the 
prayers be short, spiritual, and devout. No matter 
how broken the language, or unconnected the peti- 
tions, if they only come from the heart, they are heard 
in heaven. Let all remember that 

" Pray'r is the soul's sincere desire, 
Utter 'd or unexpress'd, 
The motion of a hidden fire, 
That trembles in the breast. 

Pray'r is the burden of a sigh, 
The falling of a tear, 
The upward glancing of an eye 
When none but God is near. 

Pray'r is the simplest form of speech 
That infant lips can try ; 
Pray'r the sublimest strains that reach 
The Majesty on high." 

The reason why these male and female prayer- 
meetings should be held separately and privately are 
obvious, and will occur to every reflecting mind. 
They are to be eminently social meetings, and conse- 
quently the less restraint and the more freedom each 
member feels, the more interesting will they be. And 
10 



136 CHRISTIANS MUST BE LABORERS. 

if they are properly conducted, their influence upon 
the piety of the congregation will be extensive and 
powerful. It is scarcely possible that a congregation 
can ever decline into a state of coldness and formality, 
in which' such prayer-meetings are established and 
kept up regularly and faithfully. We know their 
good effects by experience, and so indispensable do 
we regard them to the success of the ministry, and 
the progress of vital piety, that we never could con- 
sent to become the pastor of any people, who were 
unwilling that they should be establised among them. 
With regard to the means for promoting revivals 
now enumerated, we have onl} T one concluding remark 
to make ; namely, that they afford work for lay-mem- 
bers of the church, as well as for ministers. At the 
Protracted Meeting, in the Sunday School, in the cir- 
culation of Tracts and Books, and in the Praver- 
meeting, the members of each congregation, male aud 
female, have an important and indispensable part to 
perform. The three latter departments of labor be- 
long nearly entirely to them. And the fact is, that 
no congregation can ever prosper, no matter how 
pious, devoted, active, and zealous the pastor is, un- 
less he can also get his members to work. His 
efforts, however self-denying and energetic, will be 
almost, in vain so long as his people are all asleep. 
Every christian, minister and layman, must be a work- 
ing man. The church of Christ is a vineyard, and 
all who become members of it, are hired as laborers 
into it. To every lazy, idle member of the church, 
we would sav in the language of the Bible, " Go to 



CHRISTIANS MUST BE LABORERS. 137 

the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be 
wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 
provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her 
food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O 
sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? 
Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of 
the hands to sleep, so shall thy poverty come as one 
that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man." Prov o 
vi. 6 — 11. A congregation may be compared to a 
hive of bees in which all work except the drones, and 
at certain seasons they must be killed and thrown out 
as an incumbrance. Every drone ought to be thrown 
out of the congregation. Every such dead branch 
must be cut off from the living tree, or the infection 
will extend to other branches, and presently the whole 
tree will wither and die. 



CHAPTER VII. 

HOW TO CONDUCT REVIVALS. 

The means to be employed for the promotion of 
revivals, enumerated in the last chapter, are general 
in their character, and ought, with the single excep- 
tion of Protracted Meetings, to be constantly and 
faithfully used. We shall now consider briefly some 
of those extra or special efforts which God has blessed 
in producing genuine revivals, and add a few general 
directions as to the manner oi conducting a revival, 
when it has commenced, so as to make the work most 
pure, extensive, lasting, and beneficial in its results. 

The principal of those extra or special means is 
protracted meetings, and as we have already spoken of 
them, we shall now merely inquire, 

I. When it is most proper to appoint such a meeting 
in a congregation? And here we shall avail ourselves 
of some valuable suggestions contained in a pamphlet, 
entitled, " Directions and Advice in reference to Re- 
vivals of Religion asd Prayer-Meetings' 1 by ths Rev. 
J. C. Guldin, of the German Reformed Church. He 
says, " In setting apart such seasons, ministers and 
churches should consider: 

1. The most suitable time and favorable circum- 
stances of the people, among whom a revival is de- 
sired ; so as to secure the most general attendance." 



WHEN TO APPOINT A PROTRACTED MEETING. 139 

This is an obvious and very important direction. 
There is a time for all things ; and it would manifest 
a great want of judgment to appoint a protracted 
meeting in the midst of harvest, for instance, or any 
o;her very busy season, when it would be impossible 
for the people to attend. 

2. " When there are special indications of the pre- 
sence of the Spirit of God, the church should unite 
their agency with his in promoting the w r ork. So we 
act in the kingdom of nature: when the rain falls and 
softens the fallow ground, we plough. In the king- 
dom of grace, we are co-workers with God, as in 
the kingdom of nature. When God works, we should 
work." Revivals commence in many different ways, 
besides in protracted meetings. Sometimes they be- 
gin in the prayer-meeting, the Sunday School, or the 
catechetical class ; sometimes under the ordinary la- 
bors of the pastors, or from some providence of God 
in the sickness and death of an individual or other 
affliction. Sometimes one or more individuals become 
awakened, when no special cause can be discovered, 
and then the work extends to others. It is the sacred 
duty of the church carefully to watch all these indi- 
cations of God's providence, and to follow them up 
by proper efforts for the good of souls. 

3. " When the church in general have become 
cold; but when, at the same time, individual members 
feel deeply concerned for the low state of Zion, and 
travail in birth for souls." When some pour forth 
their complaints like Jeremiah ix. 1. " O that my head 
were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that 



140 HOW OFTEN- — HOW LONG TO CONTINUE. 

I might weep day and night for the slain of the daugh- 
ter of my people !" 

4. u When a spirit of prayer is felt and noticed among 
the members of the church; these things clearly in- 
dicate the special presence of God, and warrant a 
special effort." 

The question may perhaps still be asked, How often 
should protracted meetings be held, and how long should 
they be continued? The above observations make 
this general answer evident: — This depends upon the 
circumstances of the case. Some denominations of 
Christians, as the Methodists, are in the habit of 
holding regular quarterly meetings of several days 
continuance, which, when properly conducted, have 
always resulted in great good. The Lutherans have 
long been in the habit of holding a meeting of two or 
three day's continuance at every communion season, 
which, in some congregations, were held twice, and in 
others three or four times a year. And when persons 
were to be confirmed, it has been customary to hold a 
meeting w T ith them once every day for a week or more 
immediately before the communion season. These 
meetings, faithfully and judiciously conducted, cannot 
fail to be eminently useful. After all we repeat, the 
frequency and duration of protracted meetings must 
depend upon circumstances. During the progress of 
a revival, meetings for preaching and prayer must be 
held often enough to afford the people the necessary 
instruction and encouragement to keep up the work 
constantly ; but this can be done by the pastor and 
members themselves without special assistance or 
effort. 



DIRECTIONS RESPECTING A REVIVAL. 141 

II. " Directions during the commencement and 'pro- 
gress of a revival. 

1. Minister and church should be wholly devoted to 
the work of the Lord. Matt. vi. 33, 2 Cor. viii. 5. 

2. The church should assist the minister by every 
means in their power, as by visiting, persuading those 
around them to attend the public service, and by sus- 
taining* the prayer-meetings. 

3. Ministers and people should live very near to 
God in their closets. 

4. They must be willing to make every needed 
sacrifice, both of time and property, to carry on the 
revival. Read 2 Chron. xxx. 24. Also 1 Chron. xxi. 
23, 24. 

5. If there is any thing wrong in the church, it 
should be corrected; if the members have any thing 
against each other, they should first meet and confess 
their faults one to another. Read James v. 16, Matt. 
v. 23 — 25. There must be a kind, yielding spirit to- 
wards each other, mutual forbearance and forgiveness. 
Rom. xii. 10, Eph. iv. 30—32. 

6. It is good for the brethren and sisters to agree 
among themselves to set apart special seasons for 
fasting and prayer during the progress of a revival. 

7. If a revival be in the church of one denomina- 
tion, and conducted by that denomination, members jof 
other denominations should never try to introduce into 
it their peculiarities or their particular mode of action 
upon such occasions. While another denomination of 
christians have a work of grace among them, God has 
given it into their care, and we should cordialrj-j when 



142 AVOID EXTRAVAGANCE. 

we can be present, enter with them into the spirit of 
the work, and pray for it; but it should be a. .part of 
our religion not to push our mode of managing a revi- 
val among them. Nor will humble and meek persons 
do this. We have seen much evil grow out of such 
conduct; especially when there is connected with it 
an evident purpose of influencing and proselyting the 
converts over to their party. Such persons had a 
thousand times better stay away. 

8. Never call on more than one or two ministers to 
assist in a protracted effort. One or two faithful min- 
isters can present truth enough. When there are 
more, it is calculated to keep up novelty, which is sure 
to injure the work." 

III. Conducting Meetings. 

1. Avoid all extravagance. To every sincere friend 
of true piety and genuine revivals it must be a subject 
of the most anxious solicitude, that every work of 
divine grace should be as pure, extensive, and lasting 
as possible : and as every kind of extravagance must 
inevitably injure the work in all these respects, he 
watches, prays, and makes every proper exertion that 
every thing of the kind may be avoided. What is the 
reason that so many of our revivals have been of such 
short duration, is a question of great importance? 
We think we have shown satisfactorily in a former 
chapter, not only that they may be of much longer 
duration, but that constant revivals are possible. Why 
then is it, that in so many instances they have con- 
tinued only for a few weeks ? Shall we be told, that 
though constant revivals are possible and obligatory, 



AVOID EXTRAVAGANCE. 143 

they will never be attained or enjoyed this side of the 
millenium ? To our mind this is a very unsatisfactory 
reply, even if true. We have some difficulty to un- 
derstand how a desirable attainment may be possible, 
and obligatory, and yet never actually reached ! We 
think we have proven that constant revivals are pos- 
sible and obligatory, and the question returns, why 
may they not be enjoyed by the church? We reply, 
the reason why they have not been enjoyed more 
frequently, is, first, because of the faithlessness of 
christians, and secondly, because of the extravagances 
that have so often been connected with them. If 
christians do not believe that a revival state may be 
constantly kept up in a congregation, how can they 
pray and labor for it? " According to thy faith be it 
unto thee," is the emphatic language that may be ad- 
dressed to all such. But the other grand reason, and 
which we wish particularly to present here, is, that 
during revivals, matters have too frequently been car- 
ried to extremes. Now no extreme can last long ; it 
will almost invariably recoil upon itself with a tre- 
mendous reaction. Hence if you would enjoy con- 
stant revivals you must most carefully and prayerfully 
avoid all extravagance, — all extremes in conducting 
your meetings. We shall no doubt be asked what 
we mean by the terms extravagance and extremes in 
connection with revivals? We answer, that we mean 
just what these words in such a connection most 
naturally signify. To hold the meetings too often at 
the beginning of a revival is such an extravagance. 
We have known instances where the meetings were 



144 AVOID EXTRAVAGANCE. 

held almost constantly jay and night for.s 

together, so that the people who attended them were 

obliged to neglect their secular employments and their 

mestk affairs until every thing was in a ste - x de- 
rangement and disorder. Xow is it not self-evid-: 

. is ate of things cannot possibly continue more 
than a few weeks: This we call extravagance; and 
such a constant revival would surely be very unde- 
sirable. The same m : : e : ia >n lies ags inst keeping up 
meetings too late at night, or c x xxxng them too lenz 

a time. I; is an extravagance, and it cannot last 
more than ten days or two weeks. 1 : x tignes and 
overdoes the bodies and minds of the people as nec- 
essarily i erinduee a most fatal reaction in a w 
short time. Then the revival is at an end. and is ox 
followed bv a state of coldness and indirference which 
is more to be lamented, than the revival was to be re- 
joiced at. What friend of genuine revivals does not 
labor and pray that such an xxl may be avoided? 
1 you prevent it? then we say again avoid all 

ravagance — every extreme in conducting your 
meetings. Hold them only so often that all who w 
x hem can do so. without ai xal incon- 

dence ; and never keep them so late, nor conti: 

-.m so long that the people become fatigued and 

aiy. Rather disrx xn when they are hunger- 

ing an more, than send them away x - 

ated a;, i rxer to return again. In awe 

manage all your meetings in such a way as to six 

; : you expect and la:: ival 

uld continue forever. 



MAINTAIN SILENCE AND ORDER 145 

There are many other extravagances that must be 
avoided; but as we have introduced the subject in its 
proper place in a former chapter, we shall not repeat 
here. One observation, however, we must add : — 
Let it not be your object in any of your meetings 
merely to produce an excitement. You will have ani- 
mal excitement enough when sinners are awakened 
and converted, and saints are revived, without any 
extra efforts to produce it: and remember that just in 
so far as the animal feelings get the better of the 
judgment will the genuine work of grace be injured, 
or destroyed. Let the truth, the whole truth, and 
nothing but the truth be preached plainly, powerfully, 
solemnly, just as it is in the word of God, not to pro- 
duce an excitement, but to convince and convert sin- 
ners. Persons often complain that the excitement 
has become so powerful that they cannot control it ! 
This may be very true ; but it is their own fault ! 
They did not manage the work properly from the 
beginning — perhaps labored to produce this very ex- 
citement which now they cannot control ! When a 
revival has so far degenerated that it can no longer be 
controlled, it ought to stop, and the sooner the better. 
It is no longer the work of the Spirit, but a spurious 
wild fire, which will do incalculable injury. 

2. Be careful to maintain proper silence and order 
in all your meetings. " During prayer no one should 
be heard but the one leading in prayer, unless it. be 
the deep, sometimes unavoidable groan of the deeply 
agonized soul. The habit of groaning in prayer should 
be carefully avoided. A meeting to be solemn, must 



146 DURING THE MEETINGS, 

be silent. In social prayer, we must all join in one 

petition, or it is not social prayer; hence only he who 

leads in the petition should he heard. It is certain 

that God needs not our words; but we need the words 

of the one who leads in prayer that we may join with 

him. Now, if another prays aloud at the same time, 

how can I listen to both? Is not this confusion? And 
i 

if each prays for himself and offers up a distinct pe- 
tition, does not this amount to secret prayer — does it 
not cease to be social prayer ? (1 Cor. xiv. 33.) I 
have known persons to follow the one leading- in 
prayer with a voice so loud, or with their continual 
' Amen, 7 or c Lord grant it,' that I could not help but 
suspect that they cared more to be heard by those 
around them, than by Him who alone can answer 
prayer. There is often much self-wilkd habit in this. 
An individual, in a meeting where I was, when she 
was not suffered to pray aloud, said to another near 
her, "now I won't pray at all!" During preaching, 
singing, and prayer, there should be solemn silence 
and order. No running in and out should be suffered. 
Let all who wish to attend the meetings be present at 
the hour appointed for opening the exercises, and 
then stay until they are concluded. We have some- 
times seen meetings where persons were continually 
coming and going, and thus causing an uninterrupted 
noise and confusion, so as to destrov the effect of the 
best sermon and most solemn exercises. Others would 
congregate in groups about the doors, or stand up on 
their feet, and on the pews in the back part of the 
church, and thus destroy the solemnity and abuse the 



PRAYERS SHORT AND TO THE POINT. 147 

house of God. All such conduct is abominable, and 
will never be suffered in any congregation where " all 
things are done decently and in order." 

3. " Prayers should be short and to the point. All 
the prayers recorded in the Bible, all the prayers of 
the Savior were short. Prayers having the least 
spirit, and most repetition, are always the longest." 
During a revival many prayers are offered up for spe- 
cial cases and objects; how ridiculous then for the 
person called upon to lead, to make a prayer fifteen 
or twenty minutes long, and to pray for every person 
and thing in the whole universe, but the very object 
for which he was asked to pray ! Pray for the per- 
son or blessing for which you were asked to pray 
and then stop, if your prayer should be but one min- 
ute long, It is enough, if you are sincere, and offer 
up your petition in faith in Jesus Christ. God is our 
Father and we come to him as children; but how ab- 
surd for the child to ask for a thousand things, when 
it only wants a piece of bread! 

4. Females should never be called upon to lead in 
the public promiscuous assembly. Let them pray si- 
lently, and at home, and in meetings composed entire- 
ly of their own sex; but we have never yet seen an 
instance in which we thought it was proper to violate 
the plain injunction of the apostle, " Let your women 
keep silence in the churches; for it is not permitted 
unto them to speak." 1 Cor. xiv. 34. 

IV. Treatment of the awakened 
When there is good reason to believe that there 
are awakened persons in the congregation, they should 



148 TREATMENT OF THE AWAKENED* 

not be permitted to leave the house until some suits* 
ble means are employed to induce them to submit to 
God immediately. If they are permitted to depart 
with the careless crowd, there is every reason to fear 
that they will suppress their convictions and grieve 
away the Spirit. Hence the minister, or some expe- 
rienced lay-member should have 'personal conversation 
with every awakened sinner in the house ; and it is 
manifest that the sooner this is done, after the sermon, 
the better. It seems to us that this was precisely the 
method pursued by the inspired apostles. They not 
only preached the gospel publicly, but when persons 
were awakened, they instructed them individually, 
and from house to house. Thus on the day of Pen* 
tecost, when the apostle Peter had preached, and 
several thousand became awakened, and began to in- 
quire, cc Men and brethren, what shall we do?" they 
v^ere especially and specifically directed. " Peter 
said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of 
you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of 
sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." 
Kow would it have sounded, if Peter had dismissed 
this immense congregation immediately after his ser- 
mon, and sent these anxious inquirers away unin- 
structed and undirected, saying to them, " Go hdme 
and think of these things !-' Would it not have been 
like saying to the hungry, be ye fed, and to the naked, 
be ye warmed and clothed, without giving them that 
which they need ? And this is just what every min- 
ister does who sends away awakened anxious sinners 
without giving them that personal instruction which 



TREATMENT OF THE AWAKENED. 149 

they now so much need and desire. True, he may 
afterwards visit them at their houses, and there con- 
verse with them and direct them to the Lamb of God : 
and this every faithful pastor will do. But he is not 
omniscient, and how does he know who are awakened 
and anxious ? He has employed no means to ascer- 
tain, and how then can he visit them? Besides, he 
cannot visit them immediately after the sermon, even 
if he knew who were anxious — a day or a night or 
more will necessarily elapse before he has time or 
circumstances will admit of his performing- this duty; 
and during this time Satan will have had an abundant 
opportunity to gather up the seed of the word, and 
dissipate all serious impressions. It seems evident 
to us, therefore, that no pastor can be faithful to the 
souls of men, or be free from their blood, who does 
not afford the necessary personal instruction to the 
awakened, and urge them by every consideration to 
submit to God immediately, before they have had 
time to suppress their convictions and grieve away 
the Spirit. 

Hence some suitable means must be employed to 
ascertain who are awakened before the congregation 
is dismissed, and that an opportunity may be afforded 
the minister to have a personal interview with each 
one. Various methods have been employed to ac- 
complish this end. One is to vacate several of the 
front pews, and affectionately and earnestly urge all 
who are concerned for their souls to manifest it by 
coming forward and occupying those pews. Another 
is to press them to remain, after the congregation is 



150 TREATMENT OE THE AWAKENED, 

dismissed; and a third to invite them to the lecture 
room, or some other convenient place. One measure 
might answer in one place which would not do so 
well at another. The conscientious christian cannot 
be stubbornly tenacious of any external measures. 
His object is to bring sinners to the Savior and ac- 
complish the greatest amount of good, and to this he 
makes every thing bend. Our own experience has 
led us to prefer greatly the plan of inviting the awa- 
kened to the front pews immediately after the sermon, 
and before the congregation is dismissed, to be con- 
versed and prayed with. We have observed, that 
when the congregation is dismissed, and the awaken- 
ed invited to retire to the lecture room, but few of 
those as a general matter, with whom it is most desir- 
able to converse, will attend. The temptation to go 
away with the crowd is too strong, they cannot resist 
it: and the very bustle and confusion of the departing 
crow T d is calculated to dissipate their serious impres- 
sions. The same objections lie against the plan of 
asking the anxious to remain after the congregation is 
dismissed. It is very difficult to induce them to do 
it. Their own evil hearts and Satan will suggest 
many excuses for them. They are not the persons 
meant — their convictions are not deep enough — it will 
do as well at home or at some future time — it cannot 
be so important or the congregation would not be dis- 
missed — it is getting late and my company will go 
away and leave me, and I do not wish to go home 
alone. These and many other excuses will be made ; 
and zorne of them ars net without foundation. The 



TREATMENT OF THE AWAKENED. 151 

wife, for instance, is deeply concerned, and feels anx- 
ious to be personally instructed and directed, but her 
husband and family are going home when the congre- 
gation is dismissed, and it does not seem proper for 
her to remain and afterwards go home alone. A young 
man in the house is seriously impressed, and could be 
induced to submit ; but he came with some young la* 
dies, and as they are going home he cannot remain. 
Sometimes so many remain, simply waiting for each 
other, that after all you do not know who are the anx- 
ious, and the very object you have in view is defeated. 
These are serious objections, and in many instances 
cannot be removed. 

Hence vastly the better plan is to invite the awa- 
kened to the front pews immediately after the sermon 
and in presence of the whole congregation. Do not 
ask them to kneel at a " mourner's bench," as it is 
called, for this is objectionable for several reasons. 
Kneeling at a bench is a very uncomfortable posture, 
and to be kept in this position for an hour or more at 
a time is insufferable. Besides, it generally causes 
confusion. Persons deeply distressed sometimes throw 
themselves down at this bench one upon the other in a 
manner truly disgusting and altogether unbecoming 
the house of God. Now all this can be avoided by 
asking them to sit in the front pews, and not to kneel, 
except in prayer, when the whole congregation kneel. 
Still more, how can the minister converse with per- 
sons kneeling at a bench, and hanging down their 
heads nearly to the floor ! Is not- the very object of 
inviting them out in some measure defeated by 
11 



152 TREATMENT OF THE AWAKENED, 

plan? We are therefore in favor of asking the awa- 
kened to sit in the front pews, that it may be known 
who they are, that they may be conversed and prayed 
with, and be personally directed to the Savior, and 
ura - ed to submit immediate] v and unconditionally. 

This plan, as it seems to us, is preferable to all 
others, for the following: reasons. 

1. It leaves the awakened sinner without excuse. 
The gospel urges him to submit at once, and here he 
is invited to do so; and has an opportunity of making 
known his feelings, and receiving such personal in- 
struction as his situation may require. This invitation 
is given just when his impressions are deepest, and 
before he has had time to shake them off. He has 
no excuse left for not submitting at once. 

2. It is soonest and most conveniently done, and 
gives rise to no confusion and disorder. 

3. It enlists the prayers and sympathies of the 
whole congregation. 

4. It has a most salutary influence upon the spec- 
tators, if managed with proper solemnity and order. 
It leads christians to search their own hearts careful- 
ly, and anxiously to inquire, whether it is well with 
their souls; and the unconverted see their former 
careless companions deciding for God, and they are 
almost irresistibly drawn to follow their example. 

The pious pastor, or other experienced christian 
must, as a general matter, judge for himself what par- 
ticular instructions and directions to give to an awa- 
kened sinner, after having, as nearly as possible, as- 
certained the state of his mind. Yel 



TREATMENT OF THE AWAKENED. 153 

following remarks may not be superfluous in this 
place : 

1. Be careful to distinguish between mere animal 

feelings and genuine conviction of sin. There is a 

godly sorrow^ and there is also a sorrow of this world, 

Endeavor to ascertain the cause of the individual's 

sorrow. 

2. Never administer comfort where there is no true 
sorrow for sin, and no genuine repentance* 

3. Address the individual's judgment and under- 
standing — reason with him, and do not encourage him 
to depend upon his feelings alone. 

4. If there is genuine intelligent conviction of sin, 
insist upon immediate submission to God. Dont tell 
the sinner to " hold on and persevere until he gets 
through!" It is sickening to hear such slang upon so 
solemn an occasion, Sinners are at enmity with 
God— they have a controversy with the Almighty — ■ 
he is right and they are wrong, and hence they should 
submit at once. Never listen to their excuse that 
they cannot submit — It is not true ; they can submit, 
if they will. 

5. Dont tell the anxious that they are not convicted 
enough — You dont know this. The Bible does not 
tell us how much conviction an individual must have. 
If the sinner is willing to forsake all his sins, and sub- 
mit to Christ to be saved by him alone, he has con- 
viction enough. 

6. Be careful that the anxious do not depend upon 
their sorrows, tears, and prayers, and the exertions of 
others, as the means to change their hearts. Tell 



154 TREATMENT OF THE AWAKENED, 

them that God alone can do this, and will do it only 
on condition that they submit to him. " Give me thy 
heart my son" is his affectionate language. 

7. In all conversation and prayer with the anxious 
be mild and tender, yet firm and faithful. 

The faithful pastor will also endeavor to visit the 
anxious at their own houses, to give them necessary 
instruction and encouragement. If there be too many, 
and he cannot visit them from house to house, he will 
hold anxious meetings for their special benefit, and 
will converse with each one personally, 



CHAPTER VIII. 

CONCLUSION, AND AN APPEAL TO CHRISTIANS IN 
BEHALF OF REVIVALS. 

We have now given, what we regard a correct and 
scriptural view of the principal topics connected with 
revivals of religion, in so far as they fall in with our 
plan. We have considered the design of the church 
— the nature of true religion, and of genuine revivals 
both negatively and affirmatively — have endeavored 
to show that genuine revivals are the work of God's 
Holy Spirit, and that opposition to them, is really 
opposition to God himself — that objections to them, 
where they are well-founded, lie only against their 
abuse. We have also endeavored to show that gen- 
uine revivals are the best possible state of the church 
upon earth — that this is true of the constant revival 
state, and that this state is possible. We have like- 
wise considered the most important means for pro- 
moting revivals, and the best manner of conducting 
them. In bringing these discussions to a close, it 
only remains that we should state some of the most 
important positions which we think we have estab- 
lished, and make an earnest and affectionate appeal 
to the church to exert every energy to promote true 
revivals throughout the world in view of their great 



156 POSITIONS ESTABLISHED. 

and most blessed results. This we propose to do in 
the present chapter. 

We think our discussions in the former chapters 
have fully established the following important posi- 
tions : 

First; that the grand design of the christian church 
upon earth is, the regeneration and sanctification of 
souls — that her field of operation is the whole world — 
and that it is the sacred duty of her ministers and 
members to rouse every energy and put forth every 
effort that this glorious design may be accomplished. 

Secondly ; that that is clearly the Churclvs Best 
State, in which the greatest number of souls are con- 
verted and prepared for heaven. Consequently those 
are the best and most proper " measures" to be em- 
ployed, be they " new" or "old," which God blesses 
to the salvation of the greatest number of souls, and 
are therefore most successful in the accomplishment 
of this design. 

Thirdly ; that the christian church had her origin 
in a most extensive and powerful revival, and that 
genuine revivals have ever been the chosen means of 
God for the accomplishment of her design — that they 
have been instrumental in the salvation of the great- 
est number of souls, and the promotion of the most 
elevated, active, and evangelical piety, and that there- 
fore they constitute the church's best state. 

Fourthly ; that genuine revivals are the work of 
God, and that opposition to them is really opposition 
to God himself — that though, like every thing else 
with which man has any thing to do — they are not 



POSITIONS ESTABLISHED. 157 

perfect, but are liable to abuse ; yet that by proper 
management the evils connected with them may gene- 
rally be avoided, and that objections made to them, 
where they have any foundation in truth, lie only 
against their abuse. It is absurd to oppose revivals 
on this ground, inasmuch as our holy religion and all 
its most sacred institutions are, and ever have been 
liable to the same abuse. 

Fifthly ; that constant revivals are possible, and 
that it is the duty of christians to labor and pray for 
them. The degree and extent of the external excite- 
ment will indeed vary with circumstances; but that 
the excitement is not the revival, and is no correct 
criterion by which to judge of its true character. 
The genuine work of grace is often most deep and 
pure where there is least external excitement, or after 
it has in a measure subsided. Hence the revival state, 
the same state of elevated, active, warm-hearted pie- 
ty among christians, of concern for their own souls, 
and the souls of others, and the work of awakening 
and conversion among sinners, may and ought to con- 
tinue in the church constantly. God designs that this 
state should continue constantly, and grants the influ- 
ences of the Holy Spirit at all times for this very pur- 
pose. The church is therefore to blame for not en- 
joying this state constantly. When christians are pro- 
perly waked up to their duty, God will doubtless send 
a constant revival over the whole world, and this will 
usher in the day of millenial glory. 

" Lord, for those days we wait — those days 
Are in thy word foretold ; 
Fly swifter, sun and stars, and bring 
This promis'd age of gold J" 



158 THE LATTER DAY GLORY. 

What a work there is here for christians to do! 
"Whose soul is not on fire to assist in hastening on the 
happy time ! O how the wilderness and solitary place 
will rejoice, and the desert blossom as the rose, when 
all who profess the name of Chiist, shall fully under- 
stand the design of his church upon earth, and exert 
all their influence and power to promote it ! Then 
shall 

" Kingdoms wide that sit in darkness, 
See and bless the glorious light, 
And from eastern coast to western, 
Shall the morning chase the night ; 
And redemption, 
Freely purchas'd, win the day." 

But the very important question here arises, who 
are the persons that are to labor for this state of 
things ? By whose instrumentality is a state of con- 
stant and universal revival to be promoted ? We shall 
answer this question, in part, by quotations from sev- 
eral other writers: "I am aware," says Mr. Hinton, 
"that the work of promoting revivals in the present 
age, is for the most part committed to professional 
hands, and the care of men's souls almost entirely left 
to the ministers of the gospel. There is an impres- 
sion in the church, that if any one is to be active, it 
is only the ministers ! The Lord help his ministers 
to he more laborious ! We have (as ministers) all 
need to be quickened in our work, and no faithful 
minister wishes to shrink from it. But this cherished 
feeling of exemption on the part of christians at large, 
is a great evil ; it is one of the greatest evils of the 
present age. It lies like a mountain on the bosom of 



INDIVIDUAL EFFORT. 159 

the churuh of Christ, and it oppresses the heart which 
would otherwise heave with far mightier throes for 
the salvation of the world. It stifles her voice, it 
paralyzes her hand, it induces a sluggishness of the 
general circulation, and with it a morbid want of 
moral sensibility, which renders it impossible to elicit 
even the existing signs of life, except by a system of 
excessive and unhealthy stimulants. Nor can any 
rational hope be entertained of a general revival of 
religion, until this vast slumbering body is roused to 
throw off its incubus, and bend its whole energies to 
the effort. Private Christians must labor to promote 
revivals, and they have many advantages over minis- 
ters of the gospel, even in the most favored circum- 
stances. The one speak in virtue of their office, and 
often under a gaze of suspicion as to their sincerity ; 
the other can speak from no motive but unfeigned 
love. The one can address their hearers but occa- 
sionally ; the other may do it frequently, and follow 
up their instructions by almost incessant watchfulness 
and admonition. The one speak as comparative stran- 
gers, the other may employ the more touching elo- 
quence of social kindness, of ardent friendship, and 
perhaps of fraternal or parental love. The one can 
speak only to those who choose to attend on their min- 
istry ; the other are scattered through society in all its 
paths, and can carry instruction and reproof to the 
heedless and the abandoned. Had there been nothing 
instituted, therefore, but the public preaching of the 
word, whether at home or abroad, the easiest, most 
extensive, and most effectual means of converting the 
12 



160 INDIVIDUAL EFFORT. 

world, would have been overlooked. Superficial ob- 
servers might have conceived that little result could 
have been expected from even a multitude of such 
feeble efforts as those of individual Christians in the 
same way as one might at first exclaim : f Who would 
think of settina" bounds to the sea bv a sand bank ?' 
But he who knew that grains of sand form the only 
effectual barrier to the raging waters, discerned too, 
that grains of salt would best season the corrupted 
world. He has indeed done well in instituting a pub- 
lic ministry, but the consummation of his wisdom lies 
in working the individual energy of his people." (See 
Essay on Revivals by Rev. R. Weiser.) 

The truth is, that if private christians, the members 
of the church, do not labor, pray, and live for revi- 
vals, all the efforts of the most faithful and laborious 
ministry, will be comparatively in vain. Ministers 
may preach and pray, and toil and weep, until they 
fall victims to their exertions ; but if their people 
sleep or refuse to come to their aid, very little can be 
accomplished. Revivals always begin in the church, 
and must be carried on by the church. 

We know that many christians excuse themselves 
by savings that they have no influence, and therefore 
cannot accomplish any thing. But this is a great 
mistake. All, even the most humble, have influence, 
and really do exert it for good or evil. What if all 
should say, we have no influence ! Christians are 
declared by the Savior to be " the salt of the earth," 
and " the light of the world," and are commanded to 
" let their light so shine that others may see their good 



ALL HAVE INFLUENCE. 161 

works, and glorify their Father who is in heaven." 
Has each grain of salt and each ray of the sun no in- 
fluence? It has, and so has every Christian. 

" What if the little rain should say, 
So small a drop as I 
Can ne'er refresh those thirsty fields — ■ 
I'll tarry in the sky ! 

What if a shining beam of noon 
Should in its fountain stay, 
Because its feeble light alone 
Cannot create a day ! 

Doth not each rain-drop help to form 
The cool refreshing shower ; 
And every ray of light to warm 
And beautify the flower V 

Some profess to be willing to labor, but they do 
not know where to begin or what to do. This re- 
sults entirely from a want of reflection and serious in- 
quiry. If each one would sincerely pray, u Lord, 
what wilt thou have me to do?" this excuse would 
never be made. We are placed in the midst of a 
world of sin and ruin — all around us there is one 
grand moral waste, with only here and there a ver- 
dant spot, warmed into life by the genial rays of the 
Sun of righteousness — ten thousand forms of human 
misery rise up before us, and imploringly beseech us 
to help for God's sake, and yet we do not know what 
to do ! With us, the members of the church of Christ, 
is found the only remedy for these evils. Among 
christians alone is found " the balm of Gilead," and 
the Physician of souls ; and it is for them instrumen- 
tal! y to give or withhold moral health to the world. 



162 INDIVIDUAL EFFORT. 

And some do not know what to do ! Christian ! you 
profess to believe, that Jesus Christ died to redeem a 
.ost world — that " God so loved the world, that he 
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth 
in him might not perish, but have everlasting life' 1 — 
that there is salvation in no other, for there is no oth- 
er name given under heaven among men whereby we 
must be saved — and that the great work of publish- 
ing abroad this salvation is committed to the Church. 
You know that if the church neglects this duty, men 
must remain and perish in their sins — You know that 
the Savior has said, " Except a man be born again, 
he cannot see the kingdom of God" — You know too, 
that hundreds and thousands daily around you, have 
never been "born again" — have never been made 
partakers of the salvation of Christ by repentance 
and faith — some of them are probably your nearest 
neighbors or even relatives; and are you yet at a loss 
to know where to begin or what to do for souls and 
for Christ? There are a hundred different ways in 
which you may labor to promote true piety and genu- 
ine revivals. There is the prayer-meeting. Go, con- 
nect yourself with it — help to conduct it, and to ren- 
der it interesting and useful — encourage the hearts of 
others by your presence and assistance — induce all to 
attend it, over whom you have any influence. There 
is the Sunday School. Go, collect all the children in 
your town or neighborhood into it — instruct the young 
in the doctrines and principles of the Bible — train 
them up in the way they should go, and when they 
are old they will not depart from it. Do this, and 



INDIVIDUAL EFFORT, 163 

you will effectually promote genuine revivals. There 
is your Pastor's Bible-Class, or his class of Catechu- 
mens. Go, induce all the young, over whom you have 
an influence, to attend. It will encourage your Pas- 
tor, and it may be the very means hy which a glori- 
ous revival will be brought about in your congrega- 
tion. Go, distribute Tracts and circulate good Books 
— ask men to attend church on the Sabbath — bring as 
many with you to the house of God as you can — it 
may be your fault that more do not attend the preach- 
ing of your Pastor. Visit the sick, comfort the 
mourner, direct the inquirer, warn the careless, and 
endeavor to reclaim the backslider. Especially talk 
to your own family, your relatives, your neighbors, 
your acquaintances about the interests of their souls. 
Do it kindly and faithfully. Neglect no opportunity 
of doing good. If you know an aAvakened sinner, 
visit, instruct, pray for, and encourage him. Stand 
by your Pastor, and assist him in every possible way. 
I tell you, private christian, you have a great work to 
do, and you are just as inexcusable and as guilty be- 
fore God for not doing it, as is the minister of the 
gospel who neglects his duty. O how the care of pre- 
cious souls should press upon you, and rouse you to 
action ! O how your soul should burn with anxiety 
to see sinners converted, the work of God revived, 
and the world subdued to Christ. 

Do you want motives to urge you to labor for the 
conversion of men, and the promotion of genuine re- 
vivals? You have them in the command of the Sa- 
vior, the value of souls, and the final reward of the 



1 64 BENEFITS OF REVIVALS. 

faithful. Remember " they that be wise shall shine 
as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn 
many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever." 
u Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner 
from the error of his ways, shall save a soul from 
death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." Dan. xii. 3, 
James v. 20. 

Genuine revivals tend greatly to increase the spir- 
ituality of the church. They are the death of for- 
mality and cold indifference, and always elevate the 
tone of personal piety among christians. They kin- 
dle a fire in the souls of believers, which consumes 
their lusts and remaining sins, and makes them aspire 
after higher and holier attainments in the divine life. 
They have now tasted and seen that the Lord is gra- 
cious—have found fellowship and communion with the 
Father and with his Son Jesus Christ — their hearts 
have been opened and the Savior has entered in, and 
now sups with them and they with him; hence they 
now walk by faith and not by sight, and have their 
conversation in heaven. They now become more 
active and zealous in the cause of God. They are 
now ready for every good work. They not only now 
pray daily " Thy kingdom come — thy will be done 
on earth as it is in heaven," but they also labor that 
this may be accomplished. They now encourage 
their Pastor and each other, converse with sinners, 
and show that they are deeply interested in the suc- 
cess of the gospel at home and abroad. They also 
become more liberal. The love of God has thawed 
their frozen hearts, and they now feel for sinners, and 



BENEFITS OF REVIVALS. 165 

for a perishing world ; and as they feel, so they will 
also give — not grudgingly, but cheerfully and consci- 
entiously from love to the Savior and his cause. O 
what a blessed influence true revivals have upon the 
church ! They cause her to " arise and shine ; for 
her light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen 
upon her." Her days of coldness and mourning are 
past, and God has said to her, " Awake, awake ; put 
on thy strength O Zion; put on thy beautiful gar- 
ments, O Jerusalem!" Christian, do you not wish to 
see this ? Are you not anxious that the spirituality, 
the activity and zeal, and the liberality of God's pro- 
fessed people should be increased ? Then labor, pray, 
live for revivals. But revivals also increase the num- 
ber of the pious, and thus strengthen the church. 
Scores and hundreds are often converted from sin and 
the world to a life of piety and holiness in the course 
of a few weeks by a single revival. And frequently 
many of the converts at revivals are from among 
those who in all human probability would never have 
been brought in by any other means. During a revi- 
val persons, who never attend the preaching of the 
gospel or use any of the means of grace, are often 
attracted by the novelty of the scene ; they hear the 
word, the Spirit applies it, and they become subjects 
of the regenerating grace of God. This is especially 
true, where christians are active, and go out into "the 
hedges and high ways, and compel them to come in." 
Revivals give the church an important victory over 
the world. Saints are quickened and pray and labor 
more — sinners, often the most bold and hardened, are 



168 BENEFITS OF REVIVALS. 

humbled and brought to the Savior — backsliders are 
reclaimed — hypocrites and formalists are undeceived, 
and savingly renewed — the whole community is agi- 
tated — Satan trembles, and the kingdom of darkness 
falls before the onward march of the army of Em- 
manuel. O what a victory for the church ! Heaven 
shouts for joy, and hell utters a heavy groan. 

True revivals bring iC glory to God in the highest," 
promote " peace on earth, and good will to man." 
They promote the extension of the Redeemer's king- 
dom over the world, and hasten on the latter day 
glory, when the knowledge of the Lord shall cover 
the earth as the waters cover the mighty deep. We 
believe that it will be by one great and universal re- 
vival, that Messiah will finally subdue the world to 
himself, and amid the bliss and hallelujahs of such a 
state he will reign in milleoial glory. 

But the results of revivals are not confined to the 
present world, or to the church in her militant state. 
They augment the happiness of heaven. For if there 
is iov among" the angels of God over one sinner that 
repenteth, what must be the unspeakable rapture, 
which the simultaneous return of scores and hundreds 
of sinners produces ! But what shall it be when all 
who have been converted to God in revivals shall be 
safely brought home to glory ! O how revivals will 
swell the -number of heavenly inhabitants ! Millions 
are alreadv in alorv, and millions more are now on the 
way, who would never have known the Lord, but for 
revivals. Who then will not labor, and pray, and 
live for constant, pure, all powerful revivals over the 



RESULTS OF REVIVALS, 187 

whole world ! Christian ! is not your soul fired by a 
contemplation of this subject ? O let us succeed in 
arousing you to the importance of this thrilling theme ! 
O that we could touch some cord in your soul which 
would induce you to exert every energy, employ every 
talent, and use every means for the promotion of re- 
vivals. You desire to see the church becoming more 
spiritual, active, zealous, liberal — to see her arise and 
shine in her beauty and glory. You desire to see her 
numbers increased, her victories extended, God glori- 
fied, and the world saved ; O then labor to promote 
revivals ! Not only with your lips, but with your 
whole life and by all your actions constantly repeat 
the prayer, " O Lord, revive thy work in the midst 
of the years, in the midst of the years make known ; 
in wrath remember mercy !" 

We cannot bring this chapter to a close, without 
adding an extract from the concluding lecture of Dr. 
Sprague on revivals. u Who can estimate," says he, 
" the number that have already not only had their 
names written among the redeemed, but have actually 
entered through the gate into the city, and taken up 
the anthems of heaven, who but for revivals of religion 
would have had no part nor lot in the matter ? Limit 
your view, if you will, to the result of a single year, 
and think what a mighty accession to the heavenly 
hosts is furnished by one year's revivals. And then 
with the promises of God and the signs of the times 
in your eye, let your thoughts travel down the tract 
of coming years, and see how much the revivals of 
each successive year serve to increase the population 



169 RESULTS OF REVIVALS. 

of heaven, And finally anticipate the time when this 
earth shall no longer exist as a theatre for the tri- 
umphs of redemption, and the ransomed shall all be 
assembled on the plains of immortality ; and behold 
in that vast community, a multitude which no man can 
number, who date their change of character and des- 
tiny to revivals of religion. And then think of what 
has been done for these myriads of immortals. Fix 
upon the moment when the scene of dying was over, 
and the spirit was rushing forth to meet its God ; and 
estimate the importance of the change it has experi- 
enced, by all the horror which it henceforth avoids, 
and all the bliss which it henceforth attains. All this 
countless multitude have escaped the pollution, and 
degradation, and wailing of the pit, and have risen to 
the purity, and glory, and ecstacy of heaven. The day 
of resurrection and judgment which, but for the reno- 
vation they have experienced, would have awakened 
in them nothing but shame and agony, is a signal for 
exultation and triumph. They walk in the light of the 
Lamb. They know how to use angelic harps. They 
are kings and priests unto God. They go on from 
glory to glory, constantly approaching the perfection 
of the Highest, while immortality endures. Whose 
mind is not lost in contemplating the amount of felicity 
which revivals will secure to their subjects through 
all the ages of eternity. 

Pause now for a moment on the eminence to which 
we are brought, and so far as you can, let your eye 
take in at a glance the results of revivals, as they re- 
spect both worlds. Under their influence see the 



RESULTS OF REVIVALS. 169 

cause of moral renovation advancing, until this earth 
every where brightens into a field of millenial beauty. 
Behold also the inhabitants of heaven kindling with 
higher raptures in view of these wonderful works of 
God! Not only those who have been subjects of 
revivals, but those who have not, not only the ran- 
somed of the Lord, but the principalities and pow- 
ers in heavenly places, and even Jehovah who is 
over all blessed forever, rejoice, and w r ill rejoice, in 
these triumphs of redeeming grace. And this joy and 
glory is not only to be perpetual, but to be perpetual- 
ly progressive. Say then whether such results will 
not justify the church even now in beginning her song 
of triumph ? Which of the angels will think she is 
premature in her praises, if, when she looks abroad 
and sees what God has wrought for her already in her 
revivals, she should begin to ascribe blessing, and 
honor, and glory, and power, unto him that sitteth up- 
on the throne, and unto the Lamb ? Be this then the 
song of the church as she travels on here in the wil- 
derness, while she rejoices in the smiles, and leans 
upon the arm, and looks forth upon the gracious tri- 
umphs of her living Head. Be this her song on the 
morning of the millenial day. Let the bright jubilee 
be ushered in by the echoing and re-echoing of this 
hymn of praise all round the arch of heaven. Let the 
church on that glorious occasion count up if she can, 
all the revivals which have contributed to her enlarge- 
ment, and brought glory to her Redeemer, and say 
what so well becomes her as to take this language of 
thanksgiving upon her lips. Let this be her song 



170 RESULTS OF REVIVALS. 

when her enemies have all gone into confusion and ta- 
ken up an eternal wailing- ; when she is herself glori- 
fied and enthroned on the fields of immortality, and 
privileged to walk in the full vision of God, when the 
complete triumph of redemption, shall every where 
be acknowledged, and shall awaken joy or agony that 
is to endure forever. From the most distant point in 
eternity which an angel's mind can reach, let the 
church, when she remembers these scenes of mercy 
through which she is now passing, still shout forth her 
praises in the same noble song: and let seraphim and 
cherubim, and the whole angelic choir of the third 
heavens, join to increase the melody : — " Blessing, 
and honor, and glory, and power be unto Him that 
sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever 
and ever. Amen !" 



APPENDIX, 

CHAPTER L 

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 

In times of revival there are many anxious persons 
inquiring what they must do to be saved. Their 
minds have become awakened to a sense of their guilt 
and danger, and they are distressed to know how they 
are to be justified before God. They reflect upon 
his holiness and justice, the spirituality and purity of 
his laWj and the innumerable aggravated transgres- 
sions of which they know themselves to be guilty, 
and they tremble for their souls. Do they look back 
upon their past history ? They see nothing but a long 
black catalogue of sins, for their whole lives have 
been spent in rebellion against God* Do they look 
forward? The judgment seat of Christ, where they 
must soon stand, bursts upon their affrighted vision, 
and involuntarily they exclaim, " Lord, how shall we 
appear!" Upon the left is Sinai in ablaze, whose 
rolling thunders and vivid lightenings strike terror 
into their sin-polluted souls. Above them, gloomy 
clouds, big with wrath, are gathering, and every mo- 
ment threaten to break in fury upon their heads. 
They look down and behold themselves standing upon 



It2 JUSTIFICATION BV FAtTH. 

slippery rocks, while fiery billows in awful grandeur^ 
roll beneath them. Quaking with fear they exclaim, 
" What shall we do to be saved !" " God be merci- 
ful to us sinners !" At this moment, far upon the right, 
a ray of light from the cross of Christ, breaks in up- 
on their darkness, and a friendly voice from Calvary 
whispers into their souls, " Behold the Lamb of God, 
which taketh away the sins of the world !" " He 
that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life ; and 
he that believeth not the Son, shall not see life, but 
the wrath of God abideth on him." John i. 29, and iii. 
36. " Therefore being justified by faith, we have 
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." 
Rom. v. 1. Thrilled with rapture the sinner now 
bursts forth, " Thanks be to God, that in Christ we 
have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of 
sins, according to the riches of his grace !" Ep. i. 7. 

" Hail ! thou once dispised Jesus, 
Hail ! thou Galilean King ! 
Thou didst suffer to release us; 
Thou didst free salvation bring; 
Hail ! thou agonizing Savior,*** 
Bearer of our sin and shame ! 
By thy merits we find favor ; 
Life is given through thy name. 

Paschal Lamb, by God appointed, 
All our sins on thee were laid ; 
By almighty love anointed, 
Thou hast full atonement made : 
All thy people are forgiven 
Through the virtue of thy blood ; 
Open'd is the gate of heaven ; 
Peace is made 'twixt man and God. 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 178 

Jesus, hail ! enthron'd in glory, 

There forever to abide ! 

All the heavenly hosts adore thee, 

Seated at thy Father's side : 

There for sinners thou art pleading ; 

There thou dost our place prepare ; 

Ever for us interceding, 

Till in glory we appear. 

Worship, honor, power, and blessing, 
Thou ait worthy to receive; 
Loudest praises, without ceasing, 
Meet it is for us to give : 
Help, ye bright angelic spirits ! 
Bring your sweetest, noblest lays I 
Help to sing our Savior's merits; 
Help to chant Immanuel's praise. " 

The sinner now learns to know Christ by faith, and 
is justified for his sake. And this is the only way of 
salvation, " for he that believeth on the Son is not 
condemned ; but he that believeth not the Son is 
condemned already, because he hath not believed 
on the name of the only begotten Son of God. 5 ' 
John iii. 18. How important then is this funda- 
mental doctrine of justification by faith in connection 
with revivals of religion ? Indeed the success of a 
revival depends in a good degree upon the manner in 
which this doctrine is presented to the people and un- 
derstood by them. We have therefore deemed it 
proper and useful to add a chapter on this subject 
here, and shall endeavor to make it plain to the hum- 
blest inquirer. May God assist us by his Holy Spirit, 
so that we may be led into all the truth ! The three 



1?4 JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 

following* question may be asked on this subject, an 
answer to which will cover the whole ground : 

First. What is it to be justified ? 

Secondly. How are we justified ? 

Thirdly. What are its results? 

In answering the first question, what is it to be jus- 
tified, we observe that the word to justify is used upon 
a variety of different occasions in the scriptures, and 
with various shades of meaning. 

We read of men justifying themselves. Thus it is 
said of a certain lawyer, who tempted our Savior, 
" that, he was willing to justify himself." Luke x. 
29. Christ also tells the Pharisees, "Ye are they 
which justify yourselves before men ; but God know- 
eth your hearts." In these instances the word seems 
to mean simply, to think and speak of one^s own person 
and actions as being just and righteous. 

Men are sometimes said to justify each other. " Wo 
unto them which justify the wicked for reward, 
and take away the righteousness of the righteous 
from him." Is. v. 23. Again, " He that justifieth 
the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even 
they both are abomination to the Lord." Prov. 
xvii. 15. Here to justify the wicked clearly means 
the opposite of condemning the righteous ; that is to 
acquit them of their crimes — to permit them to go 
unpunished — and to approve of and connive at their 
evil ways. It is to treat the wicked as if they acted 
righteously and justly, and the righteous as if they 
acted unjustly and wickedly. Those who do so ap= 
prove of sin, and condemn holiness, and this is an 
abomination to the Lord. 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 175 

Again, men are sometimes said to justify God. 
Thus when our Savior spoke well of John the Bap- 
tist in the hearing of his disciples, it is said, u And 
all the people that heard him, and the publicans, jus- 
tified God, being baptised with the baptism of John." 
Luke vii. 29. The people knew that John was a 
righteous and good man, and a teacher sent from God, 
and they were pleased to hear Christ's favorable tes- 
timony of him, and they praised and magnified the 
wisdom and mercy of God, who had sent both John 
and Christ. This act was worthy of God, and they 
justified him in it. 

These examples may assist us in understanding 
what is meant by God's justifying the repenting and 
believing sinner. The verb to justify is a law-term, 
and when used in reference to the dealings of God 
with his creatures, seems always to signify one of two 
things : either, first, to declare them innocent, or that 
their actions have been conformed to the requirements of 
his just and holy law; or secondly, to pardon the 
guilty, for Christ's sake, remitting the penalty of the 
violated law, and treating them afterwards as if they 
had never broken it. 

It is used in the former sense in Deut. xxv. 1, where 
God commanded the judges of Israel to "justify the 
righteous and condemn the wicked." Persons accus- 
ed of any crime among the Jews were to be brought 
before the judges, and after a fair and impartial in- 
vestigation their guilt or innocence Would appear ; if 
they were found to be guilty they were to be con- 
demned to suffer the punishment which the law inflict- 
6 



176 JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH, 

ed in such cases ; but if they were found to be inno- 
cent of the crime charged against them, they were to 
he justified, that is, acquitted and declared to be not 
guilty. They had not transgressed the law, but had 
been falsely accused, consequently it (the law) had 
nothing against them, and they were to be publically 
declared to be innocent, that is justified. And this 
was to be done at the express command of God, and 
therefore is the same as though done by himself. The 
meaning of the word to justify is very clear and ob- 
vious in this case; it is just the opposite of to con- 
demn. It implies, first, the existence of a law, by 
which the persons placed under it are to be governed; 
secondly, that the persons to be governed by it are 
moral agents, that is, possess the ability to obey or 
disobey the law ; and thirdly, that they have rendered 
the obedience which the law requires, and therefore are 
justified on the grounds of that obedience. 

This is justification by works, or the deeds of tlie laic. 
Thus the holy angels are justified. They have never 
transgressed God's pure and perfect law; but have 
always yielded the obedience which it requires, and 
consequently they are innocent. They need no Savior. 
They have never fallen — have never been guilty of a 
single transgression, and consequently are justified and 
happy because of their constant and perfect obedience 
of every part and precept of the law which God has 
given them. It was by works too, that our first par- 
ents were justified before the fall. God gave them 
the moral laic, made them fully acquainted with their 
duty, and appointed a single precept as a test of their 



JUSTIFICATION BY PAlTtt. IT? 

obedience. They were moral agentSj that is, had the 
ability to obey or disobey this law; as long as they 
obeyed it, they they were justified on the grounds of 6 
that obedience ; but as soon as they transgressed it, 
even in a single instance, they subjected themselves 
to its penalty, which was death. Had they continued 
in obedience, they would have had no need of a Sa- 
vior, but would have remained in a state of complete 
innocence and happiness forever. 

But it is manifest that no guilty sinner, no trans- 
gressor can be justified in this way. No matter how 
few or small his sins may appear in his own eyes. If* 
he have ever broken the law of God in a single iii* 
stance, in thought, word or deed, or failed to perform 
a single duty which it required, he is guilty before 
God, and must suffer the penalty of the law, unless 
the Law-giver himself, devise some way of escape 
for him. But every individual of the human race, 
every child of fallen Adam^ who has reached the 
years of moral responsibility is guilty of innumerable 
transgressions, and therefore condemned by the law, 
and consequently can never be declared innocent or 
justified. Yet the Bible speaks frequently of the jus- 
tification of the sinner. What therefore, is it to jus- 
tify the transgressor ? We remarked that the word to 
justify, when used in reference to God's dealings with 
his creatures, had a second meaning, viz. to pardon 
the guilty for Chris? s sake, remitting the penalty of the 
violated law, and treating them afterwards as if they 
had never broken it. This meaning the word has in 
all such passages as the following : " Therefore be- 



1T8 JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH; 

ing justified by faith, we have peace with God through 
our Lord Jesus Christ." Rom. v. 1. Here peace ivith 
God is the consequence of justification ; hence, be- 
fore we are justified, we have no peace with God ; 
therefore to justify in this verse, means to pardon the 
sinner and restore him to the favor of God. Again j 
" And by him, (i. e. Jesus Christ,) all that believe are 
justified from all things, from which ye could not be 
justified by the law of Moses." Acts xiii. 39. By the 
law of Moses, shiners cannot be justified, that is par- 
doned and restored to God's favor ; for they are vio- 
lators of that law, and therefore under its curse ; but 
by faith in Christ, ("all that believe,") they "are 
justified from all things ;" that is, all their sins are for- 
given, and they become " heirs of heaven^ and joint 
heirs with Jesus Christ." Again; "By his know- 
ledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he 
shall bear their iniquities." Is. lih\ 11. Here those 
who have iniquities shall be justified by Christ, be- 
cause he shall bear those iniquities ; that is clearly, 
the guilty shall be pardoned for Jesus' sake. Once 
more; "Therefore, by the deeds of the law, there 
shall no flesh be justified in his sight ; for by the law 
is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness 
of God without the law is manifested, being witness- 
ed by the law and the prophets ; even the righteous- 
ness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto 
all, and upon all them that believe; for there is no dif- 
ference ; for all have sinned, and come short of the 
glory of God. Being justified freely by his grace, 
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 179 

God has set forth to be propitiation through faith in 
his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remis- 
sion of sins that are past, through the forbearance of 
God ; to declare, I say, at this time, his righteous- 
ness, that he might be just, and the justifier of him 
which believeth in Jesus." Rom. iii. 20 — 26. In 
these verses we believe the following vitally impor- 
tant doctrines of the gospel, to be clearly and une- 
quivocally taught: 1. That all men are sinners, and 
therefore need justification or pardon ; " for all have 
sinned and come short of the glory of God." 2. That 
to justify means to pardon sins and make righteous 
before God, for Christ was " set forth to declare 
God's righteousness for the remission of sins that are 
past unto all and upon all them that believe." 3. That 
this justification, or pardon and righteousness, cannot 
be obtained by the deeds of the law, for " by the deeds 
of the law shall no flesh living, be justified in his 
sight." 4. That this justification is to be obtained 
only by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, for "the 
righteousness of God is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto 
all and upon all them that believe" 5. That the rea- 
son why God can justify the penitent believing sinner 
by or in consequence of his faith, is because Jesus 
Christ has given his own life as an atoning sacrifice 
for the sins of'men: that he was "set forth to be a 
propitiation through faith in his blood for the remission 
of sins," so that God " might be just, and the justi- 
fier of him that believeth in Jesus." 6. That our 
faith does not merit justification, but that we are "jus- 
tified freely by his grace, through the redemption 
that is in Christ Jesus," 



180 JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 

We shall be able to make this subject still plainer 
by an illustration. Let us suppose ourselves in a court 
of justice. Here are two men arraigned at the bar as 
prisoners, charged with the crime of murder. The 
judge is upon the bench, the jury is impanneled, the 
witnesses are called, and the trial progresses. All the 
witnesses are carefully examined, the lawyers discuss 
the case, the judge gives his charge to the jury, and 
the jury, after retiring for a few moments, return a 
unanimous verdict of not guilty for the first prisoner. 
Of course the man is justified, that is, publically de- 
clared innocent of the crime charged against him, and 
at once set at liberty. He had been falsely accused, 
and it is now proved that he did not violate the law 
of his country, and of course that law has nothing 
against him, and he is acquitted. This is justification 
by the deeds of the law. But now the case of the 
second prisoner is likewise examined and given to the 
jury. They retire a few moments and bring in a ver- 
dict of gulty of murder in the first degree. The pris- 
oner is convicted of having broken the law of his 
country by maliciously taking the life of a fellow be- 
ing. The penalty of the law for this crime is death. 
The judge accordingly pronounces the awful sent- 
ence, the day for his execution is fixed, and the man 
sent back to prison to await the solemn time. Several 
weeks pass around, and the day has arrived. The 
scaffold is erected and the gallows prepared. See 
what immense multitudes have collected to behold the 
wretched man die this ignominious death ! What an 
awful sight ! It chills the blood in every philanthro- 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 181 

pic heart. There stands the poor culprit under the 
gallows, and in a few moments more he will stand be- 
fore his God, to meet his murdered victim at heaven's 
judgment bar ! His friends now take leave of him, 
and every eye drops a silent tear while gazing upon 
the moving scene. Five minutes more and his time 
will have expired ! But see ! see ! who is that has- 
tening to the spot, swift as the fleetest steed can bear 
him along ? All eyes are now turned away from the 
prisoner and fixed upon him. In another moment he 
rushes through the crowd, and coming to the scaffold, 
he hands the sheriff a sealed letter. For a moment 
the multitude is almost convulsed with anxiety, until 
relieved by the shouts of reprieve ! reprieve ! which 
now roll like peals of thunder over the vast assembly ! 
Overcome with joy the miserable man sinks to the 
floor of his scaffold, and is taken up by his friends in 
a state of unconsciousness, soon to awake to the full 
enjoyment of the rapturous truth, that for certain sat- 
isfactory reasons, the governor of the State has sent 
him a full reprieve ! He is pardoned. The penalty 
of the law is not inflicted, but he is justified, that is 
forgiven, and publically declared to be once more en- 
titled to all the rights and privileges of citizenship in 
his country, upon the condition that he shall hereafter 
obey and reverence her just and righteous laws. Now 
we see what it is to justify the guilty. It is simply 
to pardon, and restore the individual to his forfeited 
rights and privileges. So the guilty sinner, upon the 
condition of his repentance towards God and faith in 
our Lord Jesus Christ, is pardoned, that is justified, 



182 JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 

for Jesus' sake, restored to the favor of God, and en- 
titled to heaven. Condemned hy the holy law of God 
for his ten thousand aggrevated transgressions of it, 
he was doomed to suffer its penalty, that is, death and 
hell. No power in heaven or earth could redeem 
him from this condemnation, until God himself sent 
him a reprieve by our Lord Jesus Christ. But blessed 
be God! he "so loved the world, that he gave his 
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, 
might not perish, but have everlasting life." John iii. 
16. Jesus Christ has taken our place, suffered the 
penalty of the law in our stead, and purchased eter- 
nal salvation for us. Hence "he was wounded for 
our transgressions ; bruised for our iniquities ; the 
chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with 
his stripes we are healed." Is. liii. 5. Hence he is 
"the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of 
the world.'' John i. 29. And hence "we have re- 
demption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, 
according to the riches of his grace." Ep. i. 7. It 
is true therefore that Christ has made an atonement 
for the sins of the whole world; that "he tasted 
death for every man;" that "he is the propitiation for 
our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins 
of the whole world." 1 John ii. 2. Consequently 
" as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so 
has the Son of man been lifted up, that whosoever 
believeth in him, might not perish, but have everlast- 
ing life." John iii. 14, 15. 

We have used the foregoing example of the re- 
prieve of a criminal, simply to illustrate what is meant 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 183 

by the justification of a sinner ; but it will readily be 
seen that the example is not perfect, and the analogy 
does not hold good in every particular. Nor can a 
perfect example be produced. The example is com- 
plete in the following particulars: 1. The man was 
guilty ; he had broken the laws of his country, and 
sentence of death had been pronounced upon him ; so 
the sinner is guilty •, he has violated the law of his 
God, and the curse of that law rests upon him; for 
" cursed is every one that continueth not in all things 
which are written in the book of the law to do them." 
Gal. iii. 10. 2. If the Governor had not reprieved the 
man, he must certainly have experienced the infliction 
of the penalty of the law — his death was inevitable, 
for there was no other possible way of escape for 
him ; so if the sinner is not pardoned, that is justified 
by God, his eternal damnation is unavoidable ; there 
is no possibility of his salvation in any other way. 
3. None but the governor , that is the chief executive 
officer of the State, can grant a reprieve ; so none 
but God, the great moral governor of the universe, 
can pardon, or justify the sinner. All the prayers 
and efforts of angels and saints in heaven and earth 
could not avail for the pardon of a single sin — not all 
our own prayers, tears, fastings, and good works can 
blot one crime from the book of God. 4. When the 
criminal is reprieved, his crime against the law of the 
land is not only forgiven, but he is again entitled to 
all the privileges and blessings of a citizen of his 
country ; and so when a sinner is justified, all his sins 
are forgiven, and he has a title to heaven and all the 
14 



184 JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 

promises and blessings of the people of God. In 
these respects the reprieve of the criminal illustrates 
the pardon or justification of the sinner ; but in the 
following particulars the cases are different: 1. The 
Governor of the state does not reprieve all condemn- 
ed criminals, but only occasionally one, in whose case 
there is something so peculiar, as to make it proper 
to show him mercy by granting him a pardon. The 
general rule is to punish every offender against the 
laws, and a reprieve is an exception to the general 
rule, very seldom granted. But God justifies, that is, 
pardons every sinner who repents of his sins and be- 
lieves in Jesus Christ, without a single exception. No 
matter how great, black, and damning a man's sins 
may be, if he sincerely repents and exercises saving 
faith in Christ, he has a free and full pardon of the 
whole of them. For " the blood of Christ cleanseth 
from all sin," and " whosoever believeth in him, shall 
not perish, but have everlasting life." 2. The reason 
why the Governor ever pardons a condemned crimi- 
nal is because there appears some strongly mitigating 
circumstances in the case, or because subsequently to 
his trial some new facts may have been brought to 
light, going to show that the jury may have been im- 
posed upon by false witnesses, and that there is room 
to entertain reasonable doubt of the man's guilt. But 
God pardons, that is, justifies sinners in consequence 
of their repentance and faith. Jesus Christ has died 
for them, " borne their sins in hisSwn body upon the 
tree," and now offers them pardon and salvation upon 
the express conditions of repentance towards God, 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 185 

and faith in him, and whosoever complies with these 
easy terms, shall certainly be justified and saved. 
" For God so loved the world, that he gave his only 
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, might 
not perish, but have everlasting life." John iii, 16. 
This leads us to our second inquiry, viz : 
Secondly. How are we justified ? 
We have in part anticipated the answer to this 
question by the remarks already made ; but as it is a 
subject of the greatest importance, we shall be ex- 
cused for even apparent repetition if we can succeed 
in making it plain even to the humblest capacity. 

In answer then to the question, how are we justi- 
fied, we reply first, not by our own good works, for 
"by ths deeds of the law there shall no flesh be jus- 
tified in his sight." Rom. iii. 20. It is of course the 
sacred duty of all men to perform good works — to do 
all the good they can in the world — and this is pleas- 
ing in the sight of God ; but these works can never 
possess any merit to procure justification for us. In 
the lives of christians good works must appear as the 
fruit of faith, as the result of justification, and with- 
out them our faith is dead and vain. a What doth it 
profit, my brethren," says the apostle James, " though 
a man says he hath faith, and have not works? Can 
faith save him ? If a brother or sister be naked, and 
destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, 
Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled ; notwith- 
standing ye give them not those things which are 
needful to the body ; what doth it profit ? Even so 
faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, 



186 JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 

a man may say, thou hast faith, and I have works: 
shew me thy faith without thy works, and 1 will shew 
thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that 
there is one God ; thou doest well ; the devils also 
believe and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain 
man, that faith without works is dead? Was not 
Abraham our father justified by works, when he had 
offered Isaac his son upon the alter? Seest thou how 
faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith 
made perfect ? And the scripture was fulfilled which 
saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto 
him for righteousness : and he was called the friend 
of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is 
justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was 
not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she 
had received the messengers, and had sent them out 
another way ? For as the body without the spirit is 
dead, so faith without works is dead also." James 
ii. 14 — 26. We have quoted this whole passage here, 
because of its immediate connection with the subject 
before us, and because it has been frequently misap- 
prehended and misapplied. It has been thought that 
the apostle James here certainly and plainly teaches 
that we are justified by works, and that he positively 
contradicts Paul, with whom he cannot be reconciled ! 
These are hard sayings, and we trust we shall be able 
without difficulty to vindicate this portion of God's 
word, and to show that the only reason why James 
has been thought to teach justification by works, and 
to contradict Paul, is, because he has been misunder- 
stood. 1 . James does not speak of works as preced- 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 187 

ing faith, or setting it aside, or being a substitute for 
it, or as being disconnected with it, but as flowing 
from it, and being a fruit of it. According to him 
faith exists first, and is not an empty, cold, dead pro- 
fession, which says to the naked and hungry " be ye 
warmed and filled," but gives them nothing ; but it is 
a living active principle, which manifests itself in 
obedience to God, and works of benevolence amongst 
men — a faith that works by love, purifies the heart, 
and overcomes the world. 2. He does not say that 
Abraham was justified by works without faith; but 
" Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto 
him for righteousness," and upon the strength of this 
faith and in his obedience to God in offering up his 
son Isaac, he was justified. It was his faith which 
was imputed to him for righteousness, and by which 
he was justified ; but by his works he showed that he 
possessed faith, and that it was an active, living prin- 
ciple. " Seest thou how faith wrought with his 
works, and by works was faith made perfect." His 
works were indeed as necessary as his faith, not as a 
ground or cause of his justification, but to prove that 
he had faith, and that it was not dead and vain. Now 
we ask, does Paul contradict this teaching of James, 
when he declares, " By faith Abraham, when he was 
tried, offered up Isaac; and he that had received the 
promises, offered up his only-begotten Son?" Heb. 
xi. 17. By no means. They both teach precisely 
the same thing. By faith, says Paul, Abraham offer- 
ed up Isaac. Very well; the offering up of Isaac was 
a work, and this work was performed by faith. Faith 



188 JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 

existed first, believed God, and was manifested, per- 
fected, by this work. The work flowed from Abra- 
ham's faith, or was the fruit of it, and so of all be- 
lievers. But does not Paul say that we are justified 
by faith without works? He does: "Therefore we 
conclude that a man is justified by faith without the 
deeds of the law." Rom. iii. 28. Now does he not 
contradict James when he says, " Ye see then how 
that by works a man is justified, and not by faith 
only?" James ii. 24. Not at all. By faith a man is 
justified in the sight of God without the deeds of the 
law ; that is, as soon as a man exercises a saving faith 
in a crucified Redeemer his sins are pardoned and he 
is justified by God in consequence of this faith, before 
he has had time to perform good works as the fruits 
of that faith : but by works he is justified before men, 
who cannot see that he has faith, until he proves it to 
them by his works. God saw that the man had faith, 
and that it was sincere, and therefore he justified him, 
before it became fruitful in good works ; but men 
cannot see the heart, and therefore must justify the 
individual by his works " and not by faith only." We 
need not prove to God by our works that we have 
faith; but men can only know the tree by its fruits. 
Faith is a grain of mustard-seed, which God per- 
ceives, and, in consequence of which, he justifies the 
sinner, as soon as it is implanted in the heart ; but 
men must wait until it sprouts, and grows up and 
brings forth fruit. Faith therefore justifies before 
God, and works before men. 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 189 

That this view of the subject is correct, will ap- 
pear from several considerations. First, from the fact 
that without faith no good works can be perform- 
ed in the sight of God. " But without faith it is im- 
possible to please him : for he that cometh to God 
must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of 
them that diligently seek him." Heb. xi. 5. It is im- 
possible therefore, that we can be justified by works 
without faith, for without it we cannot perform any 
good works in the sight of God. Again, we are jus- 
tified before God by faith without works, although it 
is by works that the existence and genuineness of our 
faith is proved ; and if our faith be genuine, good 
works will flow from it as naturally and necessarily 
as the stream flows from the fountain. The man, 
therefore, who professes to have faith, but does not 
shew it by his works is deceived — he has only a 
name to live, but is dead ; for there cannot be true 
faith, where it is not followed by good works. Fur- 
ther ; let it be distinctly understood and always re- 
membered that we cannot merit justification either by 
our faith or good works. They are doubtless pleas- 
ing in the sight of God, but possess nothing meritori- 
ous. Does the beggar merit his alms because he is a 
beggar, or by holding out his hands to receive the 
gift? No more can the sinner merit pardon and hea- 
ven. The meritorious cause of our justification is the 
atonement of Christ. God's just and holy law re- 
quires perfect obedience, which we are under obliga- 
tions to render, and the only reason why God can ac- 
cept of our faith, instead of this perfect obedience, 



190 JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 

is because Christ has fulfilled the law in our stead, 
borne our sins in his own body upon the tree. It is 
an act of God's mere mercy and grace to justify us 
by faith ; that is, to forgive us our sins on the condi- 
tion that we believe in Christ, and as soon as we do 
so, without any atonement or satisfaction on our part, 
because Christ has made that atonement or satisfac- 
tion for us. Awakened sinners, and especially during 
seasons of revival, are very apt to think that they 
must do something to make satisfaction to God for 
their sins, and to merit forgiveness. Hence they sup- 
pose that they must be greatly distressed for a long- 
time, and weep, pray and agonize until they are ex- 
hausted and almost dead before their sins can be for- 
given. They will not believe, but do all this to make 
God receive them, as I have been sometimes told ! Now 
all this is a delusion, and if an individual were thus 
to weep and mourn until the day of his death, it would 
do him no good ; without faith his soul would still be 
lost, for " he that believeth not, shall be damned!' 
Mark xvi. 16. 

O penitent sinner ! remember that God does not 
wish you to make good his broken law ; you cannot 
do i;. He does not wish you to make an atonement 
for yourself, or render him any satisfaction for the 
sins you have committed; you cannot do it; Christ 
has already done that for you ; believe, believe and 
thou shalt be saved. Wait not, the next hour you 
may die, and be damned ! At once give yourself to 
Christ, who now stands ready to receive you with 
open arms. 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 191 

" O Jesus! Jesus! there I'll cling, 
I'll crowd beneath his sheltering wing ; 
I'll clasp the cross, and holding there, 
Ev'n me — O bliss ! his wrath will spare !" 

Many persons have supposed that it was by their 
works, tears, prayers, and fasting that they were to 
be justified, but have all discovered their mistake be- 
fore they found peace. So thought the immortal Lu- 
ther, when he was yet in the darkness and supersti- 
tion of popery. Awakened to a deep sense of his 
guilt and danger, by the sudden death of his friend 
Alexsis, he knew not where to flee from the wrath to 
come. It occurred to him that if he should enter a 
monastery, and there excluded from the world, should 
devote his whole time to fasting, meditation, and pray- 
er, he should not only find peace, but lead a holy life, 
and render God a most acceptable service. He did 
so. He entered the convent of the Augustine Monks 
at Erfurt. He most strictly and conscientiously ob- 
served all its rules. He fasted, wept, prayed, and 
meditated day and night. Never was man more sin- 
cere. For three or four days he would eat nothing, 
lying upon the cold hard floor of his cell, agonizing 
in prayer, and weeping over his sins. He hoped that 
the convent would be a heaven to his sin-burdened 
soul, but alas, he found it a hell ! The more he ago- 
nized and wept, the more his terror and distress in- 
creased. Finally he had pined away to a mere skel- 
eton, and had well-nigh brought himself to a prema- 
ture grave, when, by the half-enlightened instructions 
of several monks, but especially by reading the Bi- 



192 JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 

ble, a neglected copy of which had accidently fallen 
into his hands, his eyes were partially opened, and he 
began to see that it is impossible that we can merit the 
forgiveness of our sins by our works, but that we are 
justified by faith alone. His light and peace continu- 
ed to increase more and more as he read and examin- 
ed the Bible further, until the scales fell from his eyes, 
and his soul was set at liberty. His load of sin was 
gone, and his heart filled with joy and peace unutter- 
able, when he saw clearly that " the just shall live 
by faith," and that " being justified by faith, we have 
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." 
Rom. v. 1. He found that 

" Not the best deeds that we have done 
Can make a wounded conscience whole ! 

Faith is the grace, — and faith alone, 
That flies to Christ, and saves the soul." 

No wonder that Luther ever after, gloried in the 
doctrine of justification by faith, and declared " that 
it is the article by which the church shall stand or 
fall." 

It seems to us that we have now clearly and fully 
answered the question, how are we justified ? viz. by 
faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It may be 
asked here, what is that faith which justifies us before 
God? This question has already been answered at 
pages 33 and 34 of this little book, and we urge the 
reader to turn back and read in this connection what 
is there written. Still it may not be amiss to add a 
few words here on the nature of justifying faith. We 
remark then, that justifying faith is that act of the pen- 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 193 

itent sinner by which he trusts in Christ alone for sal- 
vation. It implies three things : First, that we feel 
our need of a Savior. Secondly, that we are fully 
persuaded hat he is able and ivilling to save us ; and 
thirdly, that with these views and feelings, we throw our- 
selves upon him alone for pardon and eternal life. 

First, we must feel our need of Christ. This is 
evident, because to the man who does not feel his 
need of him, it would make no difference if there 
were no Savior. He does not feel that he is sick, 
why should he want a physician ? does not know that 
he is guilty, why should he seek forgiveness? does 
not know that he is lost, why should he want a deliv- 
erer? But when an individual is awakened to a just 
sense of his condition, has seen the plague of his own 
heart, is conscious that he has broken God's holy law 
a thousand times, and that the curse of the transgres- 
sor is upon him, and feels that he cannot remove that 
curse, nor forgive his own sins, that he can make no 
atonement for himself, nor offer God any satisfaction 
for all the evil which he has done, then it is that he 
is ready to exclaim, " Is there no help for me ?" u Is 
there no balm in Gilead, and physician there?" Now 
he feels his need of a Savior, and soon learns that 
Christ is the very one that suits his condition. He 
now examines the character and offices of the Re- 
deemer, and soon learns that a of God he is made 
unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, 
and redemption." 1 Cor. i. 30. "That he is the 
Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the 
world." John i. 29. He is not long in being fully 



194 JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 

satisfied that he is able and ivilling to save all who 
will come unto God by him. That he is willing is 
attested by his blood and his tears shed for us, and 
confirmed by his tender and affectionate invitations. 
And that he is able, the millions in heaven, " who 
have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb, 
and made them white," and who are now before the 
throne clothed in white, with palms in their hands, 
and the millions more still upon earth, who are bound 
for glory, abundantly prove. He is satisfied that as 
this is Gotfs plan of salvation for lost sinners, he not 
only dare commit his soul into the hands of this Re- 
deemer, but that it is his sacred duty to do so imme- 
diately. Now he lifts his eyes towards the cross, 
and hears the invitation, " Come unto me all ye that 
labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am 
meek and lowly in heart : and ye shall find rest unto 
your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is 
light." Matt. xi. 28—30. 'Tis enough. He comes, 
and throwing himself unreservedly upon the arms of 
mercy extended to him by the blessed Savior, he ex- 
claims, 

" Here Lord, I give myself to thee, 
'Tis all that I can do." 

He trusts, he believes, and is accepted and pardon- 
ed. " Therefore being justified by faith" he now has 
• c peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." 
And this brings us to the third question which we 
proposed to answer in this article, viz : 

Thirdly, What are the results of justifica- 
tion ? One result, according to the apostle Paul, is 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. IDS 

" peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." 
Rom. v. 1. This implies that before our justification 
we were not at peace, but at enmity with our God. 
And this is the fact, " Because the carnal mind is en^ 
mity against God ; for it is not subject to the law of 
God, neither indeed can be." Rom. viii. 7. " And 
God is angry with the wicked every day." Ps. vii. 1 1 . 
But by repentance towards God and faith in our Lord 
Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit changes our hearts and 
makes us new creatures, and the enmity of the car- 
nal mind is slain ; and in consequence of our faith 
God pardons our sins, that is, justifies us, and his an-^ 
ger is turned away, and 

" Peace is made 'twixt man and God." 

The load of our sins is removed, all fear and ter- 
ror of God's wrath is taken away, and we experience 
the liberty wherewith Christ makes us free. " We 
receive not the spirit of bondage again to fear, but 
the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father." 
" Our feet are brought up out of the horrible pit, and 
the miry clay, and set upon a rock, and our goings 
are established. A new song is put into our mouth, 
even praise unto our God." Ps. xl. 2, 3. Like the 
criminal who is reprieved, so the justified sinner is 
filled with unutterable peace and joy, not only because 
he knows that his sins are forgiven, but also because 
the love of God is shed abroad in his heart by the 
Holy Ghost which is given unto him. Rom. v. 5. 

Hope also now springs up in his bosom. Before 
this he was filled with gloom, doubts, fears, and ter- 
ror; but now the clouds are dispersed, and hope's 



196 JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 

bright morning star cheers his lately desponding soul. 
His hope will be strong in proportion to the strength 
of his faith. It ought to be firm and immoveable. It is 
his privilege to be sure that his sins are forgiven, and 
his name written in a the Lamb's book of life." He 
ought to be able to 



-" Read his title clear 



To mansions in the skies,-^- 
To bid farewell to every fear, 
And wipe his weeping eyes." 

Many christians have such confused and foggy no* 
tions about justification, and exercise so little faith in 
Christ, that they never have any solid peace or bright 
and cheerful hope. Some even think it is meritorious 
to mope about gloomy and dejected, " hanging down 
the head as a bulrush," all their days ! They are 
shocked to hear others speak with confidence of the 
pardon of their sins, and acceptance with God. Such 
persons are greatly to be pitied. Their eyes are only 
half opened, and they " see men as trees walking." 
They have not experienced the full liberty of God's 
children, but are yet in part under the bondage of the 
law. 

Dear reader ! if this should be your case, let me 
earnestly exhort you to come out of this gloom and 
fogg at once. You are dishonoring God, and injuring 
the cause of Christ by your unworthy doubts and 
fears. Why do you not confide with all your heart 
in the Redeemer, and be satisfied ? Has not God as- 
sured you, that if you repent and believe you shall be 
saved ? " He that believeth and is baptized, shall be 



JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 19? 

saved;" and "he that believeth on the Son hath ever- 
lasting life." Is God a liar that you will not believe 
his word ? But you say " I am weak and imperfect." 
Never mind that, it is none of your business ; God 
knows that better than you do, and hence he has 
given you an almighty and infinitely perfect Savior. 
This is the very reason why you are to trust in 
Christ. If you were strong enough and perfect 
enough you would not need the Redeemer. But you 
say again, " I do not feel as I think I should." And da 
you not know that your feelings change with the 
weather, and your health, and a thousand other cir- 
cumstances, and are not to be depended upon ? The 
very reason why you do not feel right may be because 
you depend upon them, and not upon Christ. Trust 
in him, and never mind your feelings. The only ques- 
tion which you have to settle is, have you sincerely 
repented of your sins, and do believe, that is, trust, 
confide in Christ alone for pardon and salvation ? If 
you have not been sincerely sorry for your sins, and 
do not rely upon Christ as your only hope, you will 
and must be lost ; but if you feel conscious that you 
have, as an humble penitent given yourself to Jesus, 
and rest upon him alone for salvation, you cannot be 
mistaken. God has compelled himself to save you by 
his own unchangeable and eternal word : " Him that 
cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out." May 
God help you to believe fully, that " there is, there- 
fore, now no condemnation to them which are in 
Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after 
the spirit." 1 Rom. viii. 1. 



i'98 JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 

Finally, reformation of life will follow justification. 
As already shown, our faith will manifest itself in 
good works. We will strive to abandon every sin, 
faithfully to perform every duty, and do good unto all 
men as we have opportunity. The cause of God and 
the salvation of souls will lie very near our hearts, 
and by our lives, conversation, and labors we will 
now recommend to others the dear Savior whom we 
have found. All who are acquainted with us, will 
now see that we have been with Christ, and learned 
of him. We will strive to imitate his example and 
manifest his spirit, and live as he did. We will hence- 
forth " lay aside every weight, and the sin which 
doth so easily beset us, and run with patience the race 
set before us ;" ever striving to " grow in grace and 
in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus 
Christ," until our journey is ended, and he shall take 
us home to glory, to be with him forever. 

Such, dear reader, is justification by faith. Have 
you been thus justified ? Remember this is God's only 
plan of salvation for lost sinners. If you are not saved 
in this way, you must be lost forever. Have you sin- 
cerely repented of your sins, and do you exercise a 
saving faith in a crucified Redeemer? Remember, 
" He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; 
but he that believeth not, shall be damned." Mark 
xvi. 16. "He that believeth on the Son hath ever- 
lasting life : and he that believeth not the Son, shall 
not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." 
John iii. 36. 



CHAPTER II. 



INaUIRY MEETINGS. 



While a revival is in progress, the number of the 
awakened frequently becomes so large that it is im- 
possible for the pastor to visit them all at their houses 
and impart to them that personal instruction which 
their different cases demand, and which they now 
earnestly desire. Consequently, it becomes neces- 
sary to hold special meetings for their benefit. These 
are usually called " inquiry" or " anxious meetings," 
and this name sufficiently indicates their object. We 
consider these meetings of great importance, and be- 
lieve it to be impossible to conduct a revival of any 
considerable extent and power to the greatest advan- 
tage without them. 

1 . When should inquiry meetings be appointed f 
They should be appointed whenever the number of 
the awakened has so increased that the pastor cannot 
visit them all privately. They should be held in the 
Lecture room, or some other private place, and at 
such time in the day as will likely find the persons 
for whose benefit they are designed most calm and 
collected. Anxious persons are frequently so much 
excited during the public exercises of a revival that it is 
impossible to reason with them, or give them much 
instruction. Their sense of sin is so keen and their 
15 



200 INQUIRY MEETINGS. 

convictions so deep, that they are completely over- 
whelmed. Yet what they now most need is instruc- 
tion. 1 have found from experience, that the calm- 
ness of the morning, say nine or ten o'clock, is the 
best time to hold these meetings ; and as a general 
matter, one such meeting should be held every day, 
and ought not to be continued more than about an hour 
and a half, while there are anxious persons in the con- 
gregation. 

2. Who should be invited to attend f As a general 
matter, only those who are inquiring what they must 
do to be saved. It must not be a public or promiscu- 
ous meeting, or the very object in view will be, in a 
measure, defeated. The object is private conversa- 
tion and instruction, which cannot well be attended to 
in the presence of the whole congregation. The anx- 
ious will be embarrassed by the presence of a pro- 
miscuous assembly, and will be less open and frank 
in making known their condition to the pastor. A few 
experienced christians may be invited privately to at- 
tend and assist in the exercises, but the public invita- 
tion should be given to those only, who wish to have 
conversation with their pastor in reference to the sal- 
vation of their souls. This will include all the awa- 
kened and the doubting. I do not wish to be under- 
stood as saying that only the deeply convicted, should 
be invited ; but all the unconverted who feel any con- 
cern about their salvation. Indeed such should be 
most earnestly and affectionately urged to attend. No 
matter how slight their convictions ; if they know 
that all is not well with them, and are willing to be 



INQUIRY MEETINGS. 20 i 

personally conversed with and instructed, they should, 
if possible, be induced to attend the inquiry meeting. 
There their convictions will be deepened, and they 
will be led to the Lamb of God. I have also found 
that christians, who are from any cause, perplexed 
with doubts, have been greatly benefitted by attend- 
ing these meetings. Their doubts were removed, and 
they became confirmed and established. 

3. Who should conduct these meetings ? The pas- 
tor of the congregation, by all means. He should 
have personal conversation with every individual who 
attends. He is the shepherd of the flock, knows the 
people best, and ought to be well acquainted with 
the spiritual condition of every soul committed to his 
care, for " he watches for souls as one that must give 
account." Besides, persons will generally feel more 
freedom in opening their minds to him, and this inter- 
view will tend greatly to strengthen that mutual affec- 
tion which should exist between a pastor and his peo- 
ple. When other clergymen are present they may 
assist, but I would still have the pastor lead. When 
the number of inquirers is large he must have assist- 
ance, or his meetings will be continued too long, so 
as to fatigue the people, and wear out himself. In 
this case, when he has no clerical assistance, let him 
select a few of his most experienced and exemplary 
members to help him ; but even then it would be well 
for him to pass around and say a word to every per- 
son in attendance. I have sometimes been at anxious 
meetings where nearly all those professing conversion 
in the whole congregation were present, and a doz n 



202 INQUIRY MEETINGS. 

of men and women would all start up at onCe to don- 5 
verse with the anxious, and perhaps in the course of 
half an hour the half of them would speak to the 
same individual, no one knowing what the other had 
said! Such inquiry meetings cannot do much good^ 
The anxious are only confused and perplexed by the 
variety and often contradictory instructions given by 
the different persons. Their souls are sick of sin, 
and it requires an experienced and skilful physician 
to prescribe the proper remedies ; but here we have 
half a dozen advising and prescribing without consul-* 
tation, or any one knowing what the others have 
done ! This is just as absurd and dangerous^ as if 
you should call in half a dozen physicians to see the 
same sick man in the course of a single hour, and 
without consultation, each one should give medicine 
without knowing what the rest had administered. 
The result would be the certain death of the patient 
And in the former case, the immortal soul is in danger 
of being destroyed. I say again, let the pastor con- 
duct these meetings* 

4. How should they be conducted? After they are 
opened by singing and prayer, a short address may be 
made, addressed to all present, explaining, in the most 
simple manner, the nature of repentance, conversion, 
justification by faith, &c. Sometimes one or more 
short personal experience may be related by a chris- 
tian present, or by a young convert with very good 
effect. The exercises should be frequently varied by 
the singing of a verse or two, and the offering up of 
short, very short, but fervent prayers — especially 



INQUIRY MEETINGS. 203 

should prayers be made for particular cases present, 
as the different states of individuals are ascertained 
by conversation with them. But the principal part of 
the exercise should always be conversation with every 
one present to ascertain their true condition, and im- 
part the necessary instruction. This is the main ob- 
ject for which the meeting is held, and should never 
be crowded out by other exercises. 

5. How to treat the different cases that will be met 
with at an anxious meeting. This must be left mainly 
to the judgment of the christian pastor himself, who, 
here, in a very especial manner, needs the wisdom that 
cometh from above. His first object must be by con- 
versation to ascertain the real condition of every soul 
present, and then to give such instructions and assist- 
ance as each case seems to require. The cases will 
be found very various according to the different char- 
acters, habits, and moral and religious instruction of 
the individuals. For although all christian experience 
is in substance the same, conviction of sin, penitence, 
faith, justification being always the same — yet as the 
external circumstances, views, and habits of scarcely 
any two individuals are all precisely alike, there ever 
will be a corresponding variety in their religious his- 
tory. While all these circumstances are well consid- 
ered by him who is " wise to win souls," he still re- 
members that there is but one way of salvation for all. 
Repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus 
Christ, is what all must have. These subjects must 
be fully explained to all, and practically understood 



204 INQUIRY MEETINGS. 

by them. All must be justified by faith, and this doc- 
trine must be so clearly and prominently exhibited to 
them, that they cannot misunderstand, and as soon as 
the anxious inquirer fully understands it, he will find 
Deace in believing. 



CHAPTER III. 

HOW TO TREAT YOUNG CONVERTS. 

During a revival, scores and hundreds are some- 
times hopefully converted to God in the course of a 
few weeks, and for the time, religion obtains a glori- 
ous triumph. One of the most important questions 
now, is how shall the congregation maintain the ele- 
vated position to which this work of grace has raised 
it, and reap the greatest advantage from it? How 
shall the young converts be treated so that they may not 
only not backslide, but be confirmed and established in 
the truth, and become burning and shining lights in 
the church of Christ? Without the remotest idea of 
dictating to any christian pastor, we here offer a few 
suggestions on this important subject, which are main- 
ly the result of our own experience. 

1. Use all proper means to prevent self-deception. 
They now profess to be savingly converted to God ; 
to have experienced that great and wonderful change, 
which has brought them "from darkness to light, 
and from the power of sin and Satan unto God, 15 
and deception here is ruinous. If persons are de- 
ceived now, they will either settle down into a 
false peace and security from which they may 
never be aroused until it is too late; or their re- 
ligion will be like the morning cloud and the early 
dew, and in a few weeks they will backslide, and 



206 TREATMENT OF YOUNG CONVERTS. 

probably become more careless and hardened in sin 
than ever. Yet such melancholy results may easily 
be prevented now by proper examination and instruc- 
tion; and their minds are now awakened and their 
hearts tender, so that they are in a proper state to be 
instructed. And there is always danger of self-decep- 
tion during a revival on the part of some, especially 
if there be much excitement. Their sympathies are 
awakened when they see their old companions, and 
perhaps nearest relatives, weeping and praying, and 
they likewise become distressed. And when they find 
peace in believing, and their mourning is turned into 
joy, and their weeping into songs of praise, they also 
wipe away their tears, and as they experience a de- 
gree of peace, they suppose themselves converted! 
Sympathy for others in distress, and not sorrow for 
sin, moved them to tears; and now sympathy with 
those who rejoice, and not the peace of God, has 
wiped away their tears. But they know nothing 
about a change of heart. They have never been con- 
vinced a of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment to 
come." They have never seen the plague of their 
own hearts — have never felt sincere sorrow on ac- 
count of their sins, nor have they truly repented and 
exercised saving faith in the Redeemer. Hence their 
experience, views, and feelings should be carefully 
examined, their very heart and conscience deeply pro- 
ved, and they should not be encouraged to indulge a 
1 ope if there is any reason to doubt that their pro- 
fessed conversion is genuine and thorough. They 
n.ust be made to understand clearly, in what a change 



TREATMENT OF YOUNG CONVERTS. 20? 

of heart consists ; that a few tears of sympathy, lashes 
of a guilty conscience, and good resolutions do not 
constitute conversion. On the contrary, in the lan- 
guage of the immortal Luther, " it is a total change 
of heart and mind." The views, feelings, and actions 
of the individual, must be completely changed. The 
very purposes and habits of our lives must be altered. 
We must " be renewed in the spirit of our minds." 
" Old things must pass away, and all things must be- 
come new." All our old sinful works and ways must 
be given up, and we must walk in newness of life. 

2. Admit such as give good evidence of genuine con- 
version into the fellowship of the church immediately. 
When we say admit them into the church immediate- 
ly, we mean as soon as their case can be examined, 
and an opportunity is presented. They should not be 
put back and told to wait for weeks and months outside 
of the Savior's fold, among the wolves until they are 
either destroyed by them, or starved for want of the 
bread of life. " It is important that the churches 
should act wisely on this point. Great evil has been 
done by this practice of keeping persons out of the 
church a long time to see if they were christians. 
This is almost as absurd as it would be to throw out 
a young child into the street to see whether it would 
live ; to say, if it lives and promises to be a healthy 
child, we will take care of it, when that is the very 
time it wants nursing, and taking care of, at the mo- 
ment when the scale is turning, whether it shall live 
or die. Is that the way to deal with young converts ? 
Should the church throw her new-born children out 
16 



208 TREATMENT OF YOUNG CONVERTS. 

to the winds, and say, if they live there, let them be 
raised ; but if they die, they ought to die ! I have no 
doubt that thousands of converts, in consequence of 
this treatment, have gone through life, and never have 
joined any church, but have lingered along, full of 
doubts and fears, and darkness, and in this way, have 
spent their days, and gone to the grave without the 
comforts and the usefulness which they might have 
enjoyed, simply because the church, in her folly, has 
suffered them to wait outside of the pale, to see wheth- 
er they would grow and thrive, without those ordi- 
nances which Jesus Christ established particularly for 
their benefit. 

Jesus Christ says to his church, " Here, take these 
lambs, and feed them and watch over them, and pro- 
tect them:" and what does the church do? Why, 
turn them out alone upon the cold mountains, among 
the wild beasts, to starve or perish, to see whether 
they are alive or not. This whole system is as un- 
philosophical as it is unscriptural. Did Jesus Christ 
tell his churches to do so ? Did the God of Abraham 
teach any such doctrine as this, in regard to the chil- 
dren of Abraham ? Never. He never taught us to 
treat young converts in such a barbarous manner. It 
is the very best way that could be taken to render it 
doubtful whether they are converts. The very way 
to lead them into doubts and darkness, is to keep them 
away from the church, from its fellowship and its or- 
dinances." 1 

Let us not be misunderstood here. We do not ad- 
vocate the reception of persons into the church with- 

'Finney's Lectures on Revivals, page 363. 



TREATMENT OF YOUNG CONVERTS. 209 

out an acquaintance with their moral character, and a 
careful examination of the ground of their hopes. 
But where the evidence is good that they are sincere, 
that they have really repented of their sins, and exer- 
cised faith in Christ, the church not only has no right 
to keep them out of her fellowship, but greatly en- 
dangers their souls if she does so, and commits a fear- 
ful sin against God. The apostles evidently admitted 
all who professed conversion, though they had been 
heathen before. 

3. Young converts must be carefully instructed. It 
must never be forgotten that the foundation of all true 
and rational piety is knowledge. There may be ex- 
citement, and zeal, and fanaticism without knowledge, 
but there cannot be true religion. We do not mean 
wordly knowledge — an acquaintance with the arts and 
sciences — this is very good and useful, but is not es- 
sential to the existence and progress of piety in the 
soul. But some knowledge of the scriptures, of God 
and his will, of our fall and sinfulness, of Christ and 
the plan of salvation, and of the nature of repentance, 
faith, and justification, and kindred doctrines is abso- 
lutely necessary to the very existence of true religion 
in the soul. In Bible-knowledge, young converts 
should be rooted and grounded, for their usefulness 
and stability, other things being equal, depend upon 
their intelligence. An ignorant christian, if such a 
being can exist, can never accomplish any thing for 
God or his church. The world cannot fail to see his 
ignorance, and so far from being influenced by him, 
will laugh him to scorn. Hence, we say again, young 



210 TREATMENT OF YOUNG CONVERTS. 

converts must be instructed. This instruction they 
may have received before their conversion, and of 
course in the case of such, the great object has al- 
ready been partly accomplished ; but when persons j 
who have had scarcely any advantages for the acquis- 
ition of religious knowledge, profess conversion, the 
church should consider it her sacred duty, most care- 
fully to " feed these lambs with the sincere milk of 
the word, that they may grow thereby" — "that they 
may grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord 
Jesus Christ." For the purpose of imparting this in- 
struction, catechetical and Bible-classes should be 
formed where the pastor may have an opportunity of 
faithfully and successfully accomplishing this duty. 
I have known some pastors who always had catechet- 
ical classes during the whole year, which they meet 
once every week. Into these classes every person 
who became awakened, was collected, and every two 
months they would have communion, when those who 
professed conversion, were admitted into the fellow- 
ship of the church. This is an excellent plan, and 
cannot be too highly recommended. If these duties 
should become too numerous and burdensome for the 
pastor, he should appoint some of his most intelligent 
and pious laymen to take charge of some of these 
classes. 

4. Young converts should be induced properly and 
faithfully to use all tlie means of grace. Among the 
means of grace, most important to young converts, 
we may reckon prayer, the preaching of the gospel, 
the reading of the scriptures, and other books on 



TREATMENT OP YOUNG CONVERTS. 211 

practical piety, the Lord's Supper, the social prayer- 
meeting, and the Bible and catechetical class. These 
are called means of grace, because it is by them that 
God communicates his grace to the souls of his chil- 
dren, and instructs, enlightens, confirms, and leads 
them. It is through these means that the Holy Spirit 
strives, enlightening, warning, reproving, comforting, 
and sanctifying us. It is by these means, that God 
feeds our souls with spiritual food, and we might as 
well expect that an infant should live and grow with- 
out food and nursing, as that a young convert should 
advance in the divine life without the proper and 
faithful use of them. If any professed christian is 
unwilling, or too indolent and careless to use them, his 
case is hopeless. He never can grow in grace and in 
the knowledge of our Lord, and gives the best possi- 
ble evidence, that his heart is not right with God. 
All his pretensions to religion are hypocritical and 
vain. 

Every young convert, Iherefore, must understand it 
to be his duty and privilege to live in the means of 
grace. His closet must be a Bethel, yea the very 
gate of heaven to his soul. There he must daily meet 
and commune with his God and Savior, and thence 
he must bring those weapons by which he will be 
able to conquer all his spiritual enemies. As soon as 
he begins to neglect his private devotions, he will be- 
gin to backslide; clouds of doubt and darkness will 
overhang his soul ; all his christian graces will droop, 
and if not speedily recovered, he will die. Every 
young convert should also establish the family altar in 



212 TREATMENT OF YOUNG CONVERTS. 

his house, especially if he be the head of a family. 
There the scriptures should be read, the praises of 
the Redeemer sung, and the morning and the evening 
incense of pure devotion offered up to God. The 
social prayer-meeting he should never neglect without 
the most imperious necessity ; for it is there that he 
meets with kindred spirits, and enlists their prayers 
and sympathies in his behalf, and God has promised 
special blessings in answer to social prayer. " If two 
of you shall agree on earth," says Jesus, " as touch- 
ing any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for 
them of my Father which is in heaven. For where 
two or three are gathered together in my name, there 
am I in the midst of them." Matt, xviii. 19, 20. I 
have found prayer-meetings to be the very life and 
soul of piety among young converts, and almost with- 
out exception, those who did not attend them either 
soon became grevous backsliders, or were lean and 
barren as withered trees in the vineyard of the Lord. 
The Sabbath too, must be a precious day to the 
young convert. He must call it a delight, and ever 
seek to be "in the Spirit on the Lord's day." The 
house and worship of God must have charms for him. 
With the Psalmist he must be able to say, " How 
amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts ! My 
soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the 
Lord ; my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living 
God. * * # For a day in thy courts is better 
than a thousand. I had rather be a door-keeper in 
the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of 
wickedness." Ps. lxxxiv. 1, 2, 10. The word of 



TREATMENT TO YOUNG CONVERTS. 213 

God must be sweeter to him than honey and the hon- 
ey comb; more precious than gold, yea, than much 
fine gold. Nor can he neglect the Lord's Supper, 
that most solemn and interesting of all the ordinances 
of the christian church. I have marked it as an in- 
fallible sign of backsliding in a christian when he ab- 
sents himself from the table of the Lord. God is the 
author of the means of grace, and they are adapted 
with infinite wisdom to our wants, and to the object 
for which they were instituted, and no christian can 
neglect them without grieving away the Holy Spirit, 
incurring the displeasure of God, and ruining his 
soul. 

5. Young converts must be induced to abandon the 
society of their old ivicked companions. This is so ob- 
vious a duty, that we need scarcely do more than 
state it. Christ and Belial cannot dwell together, and 
light and darkness can have no communion; no more 
can the children of God and the children of this 
world have fellowship with each other. We are 
commanded to come out from the world, and be sep- 
arate — to love not the world, nor the things of the 
world — not to be conformed to this world, but to be 
transformed by the renewing of our mind. And we 
are plainly told that whosoever will be the friend of 
the world is the enemy of God, for the friendship of 
this world is enmity with God. It is the more impor- 
tant that young converts should heed these admoni- 
tions, bacause they are yet weak, babes in Christ, and 
are but little able to meet the assaults of a wicked 
and gainsaying world. Their principles are not yet 



214 TREATMENT OF YOUNG CONVERTS. 

tested and confirmed, and they should seek the socie- 
ty of christians, who will take them by the hand and 
help them on in their heavenward course. I have 
seen many a bud of genuine piety, which was just un- 
folding" its beauty and diffi*sing its fragrance, almost 
instantly blasted by the contaminating influence of 
worldly companions. I have known many a young 
convert to commence and run well for a season, and 
bid fair to become a useful and worthy member of the 
church, but in an unguarded hour he was arrested in 
his course and soon drawn aside again into the world 
by some of his old companions in sin. Consequently 
we must say to young converts, most emphatically, 
flee the world. " If sinners entice thee to sin consent 
thou not." Forsake at once all the sinful customs, 
fashions and ways of the world. Abandon entirely 
the society of the wicked. Your soul is in danger, 
for it is here that the enemy lays his snares for you, 
6. The church must ivatch over the lives and conduct 
of young converts. A little water may put out a fire 
when first kindled, which, if left alone would soon 
burn down a city ; and so a single admonition in sea- 
son may save the grievous fall and ruin of a soul. 
The church should be jealous of her interests and 
welfare in young converts, and should watch for their 
souls, as one that must give account. She should be 
willing to "leave even ninety and nine of her sheep 
in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost until 
she find it." As soon as any young convert gives any 
evidence of backsliding by absenting himself from the 
house of God or meetings for prayer, or in any other 



TREATMENT OF YOUNG CONVERTS. 215 

way, she should send one or more of her number af- 
ter him, to seek him out, speak kindly to him, and 
use all proper means to prevent his fall and bring him 
back. 

7. Give young converts something to do. One of the 
very best means of strengthening and establishing 
them in the faith of the gospel, is to give them some- 
thing to do for Christ and souls. This will lead them 
to prayer, self-examination, and reading of the scrip- 
tures. It will exercise their gifts and graces, and 
show them what they are, and what they should strive 
to become. While they are endeavoring to water 
others, God will water their own souls, and they will 
be like trees planted by the rivers of water, which 
bring forth their fruit in their season ; their leaf also 
shall not wither, and whatsoever they do shall pros- 
per. Ps. i. 3. The more they can labor in the vine- 
yard of the Lord, the more they will become interes- 
ted in the cause of their Master, and the more will 
they pray and become attached to him. It is almost 
impossible for a true christian to labor diligently and 
zealously for Christ, and become a backslider! He 
will think of his ways and return to the Lord. Be- 
sides, all converted persons are in duty bound to labor 
in the kingdom of God. The church is a vineyard, 
and all who become members of it, should consider 
themselves as laborers hired into it. We trust the 
day has gone by, when the members of our churches 
are to be looked upon as idle drones, whose only ob- 
ject at best, is to get good, but never to do any. On 
the contrary, every converted man must live for the 



216 TREATMENT OF YOUNG CONVERTS. 

world. Let this sentiment be engraved upon the 
heart of every young convert. Let him set out to do 
all the good he can in every way, determined to live 
and die for Christ, and he will find work in abundance, 
and religion will prosper in his own soul. Let him 
lobor at home in his own family, in the Sabbath school, 
the prayer-meeting, and the congregation. Let him 
instruct the ignorant, relieve the needy, visit the sick 
and afflicted, and seek to do good unto all men. Let 
him converse with men about the salvation of their 
souls, distribute tracts and good books, promote the 
temperance cause, and contribute of his substance to 
the cause of education and missions, praying and la- 
boring that the kingdom of Christ may come, and 
his will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and 
the work of the Lord will prosper in his hands. If 
ministers and churches would attend more to these 
things, there would be fewer cases of backsliding 
among young converts, and the real permanent good 
resulting from our precious seasons of revival would 
be greatly augmented. 



CHAPTER IV* 

HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 

Text. — And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that 
Israel prevailed ; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevail- 
ed. But Moses' hands were heavy ; and they took a stone, and 
put it under him, and he sat thereon: and Aaron and Hur stayed 
up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other 
side : and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 
And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of 
the sword. — Exodus xvii. 11 — 13. 

You who read your Bibles will recollect the con- 
nection in which these verses stand. The people of 
God in subduing their enemies came to battle against 
the Amalekites, and these incidents took place. It is 
difficult to conceive why importance should be attach- 
ed to the circumstance of Moses holding up his hands, 
unless the expression is understood to denote the atti- 
tude of prayer. And then his holding up his hands, 
and the success attending it, will teach us the impor- 
tance of prayer to God, for his aid in all our conflicts 
with the enemies of God. The co-operation and sup- 
port of Aaron and Hur have been generally under- 
stood to represent the duty of churches to sustain and 
assist ministers in their work, and the importance of 
this co-operation to the success of the preached gos- 
pel. I shall make this use of it on the present occa- 

* This chapter is copied from Finney's Lectures on Revivals. 



218 HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 

sion. As I have spoken of the duty of ministers to 
labor for revivals, I shall now consider, 

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CO-OPERATION OF THE 
CHURCH IN PRODUCING AND CARRYING ON A RE- 
VIVAL. 

In discussing the subject, I propose, 

I. To mention several things which Christians must 
avoid, if they would support ministers. 

II. Some things to which they must attend. 

I. I am to mention several things that must be 
avoided. 

1. By all means keep clear of the idea, both in the- 
ory and practice, that a minister is to promote revivals 
alone. Many people are inclined to take a passive at- 
titude on this subject, and feel as if they had nothing 
to do. They have employed a minister and paid him, 
to feed them with instruction and comfort, and now 
they have nothing to do but to sit and swallow the 
food he gives. They are to pay his salary, and at- 
tend on his preaching, and they think that is doing a 
great deal. And he on his part is expected to preach 
good, sound, comfortable doctrine, to bolster them up, 
and make them feel comfortable, and so they expect 
to go to heaven. I tell you, THEY WILL GO TO 
HELL, if this is their religion. That is not the way 
to heaven. 

Rest assured that where this spirit prevails in the 
church, however good the minister may be, the church 
have taken the course to prevent a revival. If he is 
ever so faithful, ever so much engaged, ever so talent- 



HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 219 

ed and eloquent, he may wear himself out, and per- 
haps destroy his life, but he will have little or no re* 
vival. 

Where there is no churchy or very few members in 
the church, a revival may be promoted without any 
organized effort of the church, hecause it is not there, 
and in such a case, God accommodates his grace to 
the circumstances, as he did when the apostles went 
out, single-handed, to plant the gospel in the world. 1 
have seen instances of powerful revivals, where such 
Was the case. But where there are means, God will 
have them used. I had rather have no church in a 
place^ than attempt to promote a revival in a place 
Where there is a church which will not work. God 
will be inquired of by his people to bestow blessings* 
The counteracting influence of a church that will not 
work, is worse than infidelity. There is no possibil* 
ity of occupying neutral ground, in regard to a revi- 
val, though some professors imagine they are neutral. 
If a professor will not lay himself out in the work, he 
opposes it. Let such a one attempt to take middle 
ground, and say he is going to wait and see how they 
come out — why, that is the very ground the devil 
wants him to take. Professors can in this way do his 
work a great deal more effectually than by open op- 
position. If they should take open ground in opposi- 
tion, every body will say they have no religion. But 
by this middle course they retain their influence, and 
thus do the devil's work more effectually. 

In employing a minister, a church must remember, 
that they have only employed a leader, to lead them 



120 PROTRACTED MEETINGS. 

if ought to be. But this cannot be done until its real 
condition is understood and made known. Nor should 
this examination be confined to the church. Christians 
should look beyond it, and inquire into the spiritual 
condition of their families, and their neighborhood. 
They should remember the value of precious souls, 
and that none can be saved without repentance and 
faith — that the present is their only day of grace, and 
that if it passes by unimproved, they must perish for- 
ever! They should remember that an awful respon- 
sibility rests upon them, and that God will require the 
blood of souls at their hands, which perish through 
their neglect. Such an inquiry into the state of piety 
in a congregation and neighborhood will show the ne- 
cessity of a revival, and of renewed efforts for the sal- 
vation of men. It will create a strong desire for a work 
of grace, and lead to fervent prayer, and active zeal- 
ous labors that during the meeting the means may be 
owned and blessed, and the Spirit of God copiously 
poured out upon the people. The way must also be 
prepared by much fervent, importunate, believing 
prayer. Prayer is the grand means appointed to ob- 
tain the blessing of the Holy Spirit. "When God 
was about to revive Israel and restore them to a state 
of prosperity and happiness, after their return from 
captivity, he used this language: " Then will I sprinkle 
clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean : from all 
your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse 
you. A new heart also wiil I give you, and a new 
spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the 
stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you an 



PROTRACTED MEETINGS. 121 

heart of flesh." God declares that he will do this, 
that it is his work, and further adds, " Thus saith the 
Lord God, I will yet for this he inquired of by the 
house of Israel to do it for them." Ez. xxvi. 25, 26, 
37. As if he had said, the great work of restoring 
you, and making you a better and more pious people 
belongs to me — I alone can do it , but you must de- 
sire it and pray for it: "I will yet be inquired of 
by you to do it for you!" This ever has been, and 
still is God's plan. Christians must remember this. 
Revival work is God's work, but he will not do it, 
without the proper and faithful use of the appointed 
means, and especially prayer, by his people. Hence 
also the Savior has said, a Ask, and it shall be given 
you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be 
opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiv- 
eth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that 
knocketh it shall be opened.* * If ye then being evil, 
know how to give good gifts unto your children, how 
much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy 
Spirit to them that ask him." Luke xi. 9, 10, 13. O 
what fervent believing prayer there should be among 
the members of a congregation in which a protracted 
meeting is about to be held ! They need not expect 
a revival without this. 

Again; the preaching at a protracted meeting must 
be of the right kind if a genuine revival is to be the 
result. It must be timely, suited to the capacities and 
wants of the people, and the occasion and circum- 
stances of the case. Ministers upon such occasions 
need, in a very especial manner, that wisdom which 



222 HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 

out and died, and the other had exhausted himself, 
and got discouraged, and left them, and they were a 
poor and feeble church, and their prospects very dark 
unless they could have a revival, and so he begged 
this minister to go and help them. He seemed to be 
very sorrowful, and the minister heard his whining, 
and at last replied by asking, " Why did you never 
have a revival ?" " I don't know," said the elder. " Our 
minister labored hard, but the church did not seem to 
wake up, and somehow there seemed to be no revi- 
val." " Well, now," said the minister, " I see what 
you want ; you have killed one of God's ministers, 
and broke down another so that he had to leave you, 
and now you want to get another there and kill him, 
and the devil has sent you here to get me to go and 
rock your cradle for you. You had one good minis- 
ter to preach to you, but you slept on, and he exerted 
himself till be absolutely died in the work. Then the 
Lord let you have another, and still you lay and slept, 
and would not wake up to your duty. And now you 
have come here in despair, and want another minister, 
do you? God forbid that you should ever have 
another while you do as you have done. God forbid 
that you should ever have a minister, till the church 
will wake up to duty." The elder was affected, for 
he was a good man. The tears came in his eyes, and 
he said it was no more than they deserved. " And 
now," said the minister, " will you be faithful, and go 
home and tell the church what I say? If you will, 
and they will be faithful and wake up to duty, they 
shall have a minister, I will warrant them that." The 



HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 223 

elder said he would, and he was true to his word ; he 
went home and told the church how cruel it was for 
them to ask another minister to come among them, un- 
less they would wake up. They felt it, and confessed 
their sins, and waked up to duty, and a minister was 
sent to them, and a precious and powerful revival fol- 
lowed. 

Churches do not realize how often their coldness 
and backwardness may be absolutely the cause of the 
death of ministers. The state of the people, and of 
sinners, rests upon their mind, they travail in soul 
night and day, and they labor in season and out of 
season, beyond the power of the human constitution 
to bear, till they wear out and die. The church know 
not the agony of a minister's heart, when he travails 
for souls, and labors to wake up the church to help, 
and still sees them in the slumbers of death. Perhaps 
sometimes they will rouse up to spasmodic effort for 
a few days, and then all is cold again. And so many 
a faithful minister wears himself out and dies, and then 
these heartless professors are the first to blame him 
for doing so much. 

I recollect a case of a good minister, who went to 
a place where there was a revival, and while there, 
heard a pointed sermon to ministers. He received it 
like a man of God ; he did not rebel against God's 
truth, but he vowed to God that he never would rest 
until he saw a revival among his people. He return- 
ed home and went to work ; the church would not 
wake up, except a few members, and the Lord bless- 
ed ihem-, and poured out his Spirit, but the minister 
17 



224 HOXV CHtiftCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 

laid himself down on his bed and died, in the midst of 
the revival. 

4. Be careful not to complain of plain, pointed 
preaching, even when its reproofs fasten on yourselves. 
Churches are apt to forget, that a minister is respon- 
sible only to God. They want to make rules for a 
minister to preach by, so as not to have it Jit them. If 
he bears down on the church, and exposes the sins 
that prevail among them, they call it personal, and re- 
bel against the truth. Or they say, he should not 
preach so plainly to the church before the world ; it 
exposes religion, they say, and he ought to take them 
by themselves and preach to the church alone, and not 
tell sinners how bad Christians are. But there are 
cases where a minister can do no less than to show 
the house of Jacob their sins. If you ask, Why not 
do it when we are by ourselves ? I answer, Just as 
if sinners did not know you did wrong. I will preach 
to you by yourselves, about your own sins, when you 
will get together by yourselves to sin. But as the 
Lord liveth, if you sin before the world, you shall be 
rebuked before the world. Is it not a fact that sin- 
ners do know how you live, and that they stumble 
over you into hell ? Then do not blame ministers, 
when they see it their duty to rebuke the church 
openly, before the world. If you are so proud you 
cannot bear this, you need not expect a revival. Do 
not call preaching loo plain, because it exposes the 
faults of the church. There is no such thins: as 
preaching too plain. 



e> 



MOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 225 

5. Sometimes professors take alarm, lest the minis- 
ter should offend the ungodly by plain preaching. And 
they will begin to caution him against it, and ask him 
if he had not better alter a little to avoid giving of- 
fence, and the like. This fear is excited especially 
if some of the more wealthy and influential members 
of the congregation are offended, lest they should 
withdraw their support from the church, and no lon- 
ger give their money to help to pay the minister's sal- 
ary, and so the burden will come the heavier on the 
church. They never can have a revival in such a 
church. Why, the church ought to pray above all 
things, that the truth may come on the ungodly like 
fire. What if they are offended ? Christ can get 
along very well without their money. Do not blame 
your minister, nor ask him to change his mode of 
preaching to please and conciliate the ungodly. It is 
of no use for a minister to preach to the impenitent, 
unless he can preach the truth to them. And it will 
do no good for them to pay for the support of the 
gospel, unless it is preached in such a way, that they 
may be searched and saved. 

Sometimes church members will talk among them- 
selves about the minister's imprudence, and create a 
party, and get into a very wrong spirit, because the 
wicked are displeased. There was a place, where 
there was a powerful revival, and great opposition. 
The church were alarmed, for fear that if the minis- 
ter was not less plain and pointed, some of the im- 
penitent would go and join some other congregation. 
And one of the leading men in the church was ap- 



226 HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS; 

pointed to go to the minister, and ask him not to 
preach quite so hard, for if he continued to do so, 
such and such persons would leave the congregation. 
The minister asked, Is not the preaching true ? "Yes." 
Does not God bless it? "Yes." Did you ever see 
the like of this work before in this place ? " No, I 
never did*" " Get thee behind me, Satan, the devil 
has sent you" here on this errand ; you see God is 
blessing the preaching, the work is going on, and sin- 
ners are converted every day, and now you come to 
get me to let down the tone of preaching, so as to ease 
the minds of the ungodly." The man felt the rebuke, 
and took it like a Christian ; he saw his error and 
submitted, and never again was heard to find fault 
with the plainness of preaching. 

In another town, where there was a revival, a wo- 
man who had some influence, (not pious,) complained 
very much about plain, pointed, personal preaching, 
as she called it. But by and by she herself became 
a subject of the work. After this some of her im- 
penitent friends reminded her of what she used to say 
against the preacher for " preaching it out so hot." 
She now said her views were altered, and she did not 
care how hot the truth was preached, if it was red 
hot. 

6. Do not take part with the wicked in any way. If 
you do it at all, you will strengthen their hands. If 
the wicked accuse the minister of being imprudent, 
or of being personal, and if the church members, 
without admitting that the minister does so, only ad- 
mit that personal preaching is wrong, and talk about 



HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 227 

the impropriety of personal preaching, the wicked 
will feel themselves strengthened by such remarks. 
Do not unite with them at all, for they will feel that 
they have you on their side against their minister. 
You adopt their principles, and use their language, 
and are understood as sympathizing with them. What 
is personal preaching ? No individual is ever bene- 
fited by preaching, until he is made to feel that it 
means him. Now such preaching is always personal. 
It often appears so personal, to wicked men, that they 
feel as if they were just going to be called out by 
name, before the congregation. A minister was once 
preaching to a congregation, and when describing cer- 
tain characters, he said, "If I was omniscient, I could 
call out by name the very persons that answer to this 
picture." A man cried out, "Name me!" and he 
looked as if he was going to sink into the earth. He 
afterwards said that he had no idea of speaking out, 
but the minister described him so perfectly, that he 
really thought he was going to call him by name. 
The minister did not know there was such a man in 
the world. It is common for men to think their own 
conduct is described, and they complain, " Who has 
been telling him about me ? Somebody has been talk- 
ing to him about me, and getting him to preach at me." 
I suppose I have heard of five hundred or a thousand 
just such cases. Now if the church members will 
just admit that it is wrong for a minister to mean any 
body in his preaching, how can he do any good? If 
you are not willing your minister should mean any 
body, or preach to any body, you had better dismiss 



228 HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS, 

him. Whom must he preach to, if not to the persons, 
the individuals before him ? And how can he preach 
to them, when he does not mean them ? 

7. If you wish to stand by your minister in promot- 
ing a revival, do not by your lives contradict his preach- 
ing. If he preaches that sinners are going to hell, do 
not give the lie to it, and smile it all away, by your 
levity and unconcern. I have heard sinners speak of 
the effect produced on their minds, by levity in Chris- 
tians, after a solemn and searching discourse. They 
feel solemn and tender, and begin to be alarmed at 
their condition, and they see these professors, instead 
of weeping over them, all light and easy, as much as 
to say, " Don't be afraid, sinners, it ain't so bad, after 
all ; keep cool and you will do well ; do you think 
we would laugh and joke, if you were going to hell 
so fast ? We should not laugh if only your house 
was on fire, still less if we saw you burning in it." 
Of what use is it for a minister to preach to sinners, 
in such a state of things ? 

8. Do not needlessly take up the time of your min- 
ister. Ministers often lose a great deal of time by 
individuals calling on them to talk, when they have 
nothing of importance to talk about, and no particular 
errand. The minister of course is glad to see his 
friends, and often too willing to spend time in conver- 
sation with his people, as he loves and esteems them. 
Professors of religion should remember that a minis- 
ter's time is worth more than gold, for it can be em- 
ployed in that which gold can never buy. If the min- 
ister is kept from his knees, or from his Bible, or his 



HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINZSTERS, 229 

study, that they may indulge themselves in his con- 
versation, they do a great injury. When you have a 
good reason for it, you should never be backward to 
call on him, and even take up all the time that is ne- 
cessary. But if you have nothing- in particular to say 
that is important, keep away. I knew a man in one 
of our cities, who was out of business, and he used 
to take up months of the minister's time. He would 
come to his study, and sit for three hours at a time, 
and talk, because he had nothing else to do, till final- 
ly, the minister had to rebuke him plainly, and tell 
him how much sin he was committing. 

9. Be sure not to sanction any thing that is calcu- 
lated to divert public attention from the subject of re- 
ligion. Often when it comes the time of year to 
work, when the evenings are long, and business is 
light, and the very time to make an extra effort, at 
this moment, somebody in the church will give a party^ 
and invite some Christian friends, so as to have it a 
religious party. And then some other family must do 
the same, to return the compliment. Then another 
and another, till it grows into an organized system of 
parties, that consume the whole winter. Abominable ! 
This is the grand device of the devil, because it ap- 
pears so innocent, and so proper, to promote good 
feeling, and increase the acquaintance of Christians 
with each other. And so, instead of prayer meetings 
they will have these parties. 

The evils of these parties are very great. They 
are often got up at great expense, and the most abom- 
inable gluttony is practised in them. It is said that 



230 HCW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS, 

the expense is from one hundred to two thousand dol- 
lars. I have been told that in some instances, pro- 
fessed Christians have given great parties, and made 
great entertainments, and excused their ungodly pro- 
digality in the use of Jesus Christ's money, by giving 
what was left, after the feast was ended, to the poor ! 
Thus making it a virtue to feast and riot, even to sur- 
feiting, on the bounties of God's providence, under 
pretence of benefiting the poor. This is the same in 
principle, with a splendid ball which was given some 
years since, in a neighboring city. The ball was got 
up for the benefit of the poor, and each gentleman 
was to pay a certain sum, and after the ball was end- 
ed, whatever remained of the funds thus raised, was 
to be given to the poor. Truly this is strange char- 
ity, to eat and drink and dance, and when they have 
rioted and feasted until they can enjoy it no longer, 
they deal out to the poor the crumbs that have fallen 
from the table. I do not see why such a ball is not 
quite as pious as such Christian parties. The evil 
of balls does not consist simply in the exercise of 
dancing, but in the dissipation, and surfeiting, and 
temptations connected with them. 

But it is said they are Christian parties, and that 
they are all, or nearly all, professors of religion who 
attend them. And furthermore, that they are con- 
cluded, often, with prayer. Now I regard this as one 
of the worst features about them ; that after the waste 
of time and money, the excess in eating and drinking, 
the vain conversation, and nameless fooleries, with 
which such a season is filled up, an attempt should be 



HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 131 

made to sanctify it, and palm it off upon God, by con- 
cluding it with prayer. Say what you will, it would 
not be more absurd or incongruous, or impious, to 
close a ball, or a theatre, or a card party with prayer. 

Has it come to this, that professors of religion, pro- 
fessing to desire the salvation of the world, when 
such calls are made upon them, from the four winds 
of heaven 3 to send the gospel, to furnish Bibles, and 
tracts, and missionaries, to save the world from death, 
that they should spend hundreds of dollars in an even- 
ing, and then go to the monthly concert and pray for 
the heathen ! 

In some instances, I have been told, they find a 
salvo for their consciences, in the fact that their min- 
ister attends their parties. This, of course, would 
give weight to such an example, and if one professor 
of religion made a party and invited their minister, 
others must do the same. The next step they take, 
may be for each to give a ball, and appoint their min- 
ister a manager ! Why not? And perhaps, by and 
by, he will do them the favor to play the fiddle. In 
my estimation he might quite as well do it, as to go 
and conclude such a party with prayer. 

I should advise any congregation, who are calcu- 
lating to have a circle of parties, in the mean time to 
dismiss their minister, and let him go and preach 
where the people would be ready to receive the word 
and profit by it, and not have him stay and be distress- 
ed, and grieved, and killed, by attempting to promote 
religion among them, while they are engaged heart 
and hand in the service of the devil. 
18 



132 HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 

Professors of religion should never get up any thing 
that may divert public attention from religion, without 
first having consulted their minister, and make it a 
subject of special prayer. And if they find it will 
have this effect, they ought never to do it. Subjects 
will often come up before the public which have this 
tendency ; some course of lectures, or show, or the 
like. Professors ought to be wise, and understand 
what they are about, and not give countenance to any 
such thing, until they see what influence it will have, 
and whether it will hinder a revival. If it will do 
that, let them have nothing to do with it. Every such 
thing should be estimated by its bearing upon Christ's 
kingdom. 

In relation to parties, say what you please about 
their being an innocent recreation, I appeal to any of 
you who have ever attended them, to say whether 
they fit you for prayer, or increase your spirituality, 
or whether sinners are ever converted in them, or 
Christians made to agonize in prayer for souls ? 

II. I am to mention several things which churches 
must DO, if they would promote a revival and aid 
their minister. 

1 . The must attend to his temporal wants. A min- 
ister, w T ho gives himself wholly to the work, cannot 
be engaged in worldly employments, and of course is 
entirely dependent on his people for the supply of his 
temporal wants, including the support of his family. 
I need not argue this point here, for you all understand 
this perfectly* It is the command of God, that "they 
which preach the gospel should live of the gospel." 



how churches can help ministers, 233 

But now look around and see how many churches do 
in this matter. For instance, when they want a min- 
ister, they will cast about and see how cheap they can 
get one. They will calculate to a farthing how much 
his salt will cost, and how much his meal, and then 
set his salary so low as to subject him to extreme in- 
convenience to get along and keep his family. A 
minister must have his mind at ease, to study and la- 
bor with effect, and he cannot screw down prices, and 
banter, and look out for the best chances to buy to 
advantage what he needs. If he is obliged to do this, 
his mind is embarrassed. Unless his temporal wants 
are so supplied, that his thoughts may be abstracted 
from them, how can he do his duty ? 

2. Be honest with your minister. 

Do not measure out and calculate with how much 
salt and how many bushels of grain he can possibly 
get along. Remember, you are dealing with Christ. 
And he calls you to place his ministers in such a situa- 
tion, that with ordinary prudence, temporal embarrass- 
ment is out of the question. 

3. Be punctual with him. 

Sometimes churches, when they are about settling 
a minister, have a great deal of pride about giving a 
salary, and they will get up a subscription, and make 
out an amount which they never pay, and very likely 
never expected to pay. And so, after one, two, three, 
or four years, the society gets three or four hundred 
dollars in arrears to their minister, and then they ex- 
pect he will give it to them. And all the while, they 
wonder why there is no revival ! This may be the 



234 HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 

yery reason, because the church have LIED ; they 
have faithfully promised to pay so much, and have not 
done it. God cannot consistently pour out his Spirit 
on such a church. 

4. Pay him his salary without asking. 

Nothing is so embarrassing, often, to a minister, as 
to be obliged to dun his people for his salary. Often 
he gets enemies, and gives offence, by being obliged 
to call, and call, and call for his money, and then not 
get it as they promised. They would have paid it if 
their credit had been at stake, but when it is nothing 
but conscience and the blessing of God, they let it lie 
along. If any one of them had a note at the bank, 
you would see him careful and prompt to be on the 
ground before three o'clock. That is because the 
note will be protested, and they shall lose their char- 
acter. But they know the minister will not sue them 
for his salary, and they are careless and let it run 
along, and he must suffer the inconvenience. This is 
not so common in the city as it is in the country. But 
in the country, I have known some heart-rending cases 
of distress and misery, by the negligence and cruelty 
of congregations in withholding that which is due. 
Churches live in habitual lying and cheating, and then 
wonder why they have no revival. How can they 
wonder ? 

5. Pray for your minister. I mean something by 
this. And what do you suppose I mean ? Even the 
apostles used to urge the churches to pray for them. 
This is more important than you imagine. Ministers 
do not ask people to pray for them simply as men, 



HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 235 

nor that they may be filled with an abundance of the 
Spirit's influences, merely to promote their personal 
enjoyment. But they know that unless the church 
greatly desires a blessing upon the labors of a minis- 
ter, it is tempting God for him to expect it. How 
often does a minister go into his pulpit, feeling that 
his heart is ready to break for the blessing of God, 
while he also feels that there is no room to expect it, 
for there is no reason to believe the church desire it ! 
Perhaps he has been two hours on his knees in sup- 
plication, and yet because that the church do not de- 
sire a blessing, he feels as if his words would bound 
back in his face. 

I have seen Christians who would be in an agony, 
when the minister was going into the pulpit, for fear 
his mind should be in a cloud, or he should have no 
unction, and so a blessing should not come. I have 
labored with a man of this sort. He would pray until 
he got an assurance in his mind, that God would be 
with me in preaching, and sometimes he would pray 
himself sick. I have known the time, when he has 
been in darkness for a season, while the people were 
gathering, and his mind was full of anxiety, and he 
would go again and again to pray, till finally he would 
come into the room with a placid face, and say, " The 
Lord has come, and he will be with us." And I do 
not know that I ever found him mistaken. 

I have known a church bear their minister on their 
arms in prayer from day to day, and watch with 
anxiety unutterable, to see that he has the Holy Ghost 
with him in his labors ! When they feel and pray 



236 HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 

thus, O what feelings and what looks are manifest in 
the congregation ! They have felt anxiety unutter- 
able to have the word come with power, and take 
effect, and when they see their prayer answered, and 
they hear a word or a sentence come WARM from 
the heart, and taking effect among the people, you can 
see their whole souls look out of their eyes. How 
different is the ease, where the church feel that the 
minister is praying, and so there is no need of their 
praying ! They are mistaken. The church must de- 
sire and pray for the blessing. God says he will be 
inquired of by the house of Israel. I wish you to feel 
that there can be no substitute for this. 

I have seen cases in revivals, where the church 
was kept in the back ground in regard to prayer, and 
persons from abroad were called on to pray in all the 
meetings. This is always unhappy, even if there 
should be a revival, for the revival must be less pow- 
erful and less salutary in its influences upon the church. 
I do not know but I have sometimes offended Chris- 
tians and ministers from abroad, by continuing to call 
on members of the church in the place to pray, and 
not on those from abroad. It was not from any dis- 
respect to them, but because the object was to get 
that church which was chiefly concerned, to desire, 
and pray, and agonize for the blessing. 

In a certain place, a protracted meeting was held, 
with no good results, and great evils produced. I was 
led to make inquiry for the reason. And it came out, 
that in all their meetings, not one member of their 
own church was called on to pray, but all the prayers 



HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 237 

were made by persons from abroad. No wonder 
there was no good done. The church was not inter- 
ested. The leader of the meeting meant well, but he 
undertook to promote a revival without getting the 
church there into the work. He let a lazy church lie 
still and do nothing, and so there could be no good. 

Churches should pray for ministers as the agents of 
breaking down sinners with the word of truth. Prayer 
for a minister is often done in a set and formal way, 
and confined to the prayer meetings. They will say 
their prayers in the old way, as they have always 
done: "Lord, bless thy ministering servant, whom 
thou hast stationed on this part of Zion's walls," and 
so on, and it amounts to nothing, because there is no 
heart in it. And the proof often is, that they never 
thought of praying for him in secret, they never have 
agonized in their closets for a blessing on his labors. 
They may not omit it wholly in their meetings. If 
they do that, it is evident that they care very little in- 
deed about the labors of their minister. But that is 
not the most important place. The way to present 
effectual prayer for your minister is to take it to your 
closet, and when you are in secret, wrestle with God 
for success to attend his labors. 

I knew a case of a minister in ill health, who be- 
came depressed and sunk down in his mind, and was 
very much in darkness, so that he did not feel as if he 
could preach any longer. An individual of the church 
was waked up to feel for the minister's situation, and 
to pray that he might have the Holy Ghost to attend 
his preaching. One Sabbath morning, this person's 



238 HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 

mind was very much exercised, and he began to pray 
as soon as it was light, and prayed again and again for 
a blessing that day. And the Lord in some way di- 
rected the minister within hearing of his prayer. The 
person was telling the Lord just what he thought of 
the minister's situation and state of mind, and plead- 
ing, as if he would not be denied, for a blessing. The 
minister went into the pulpit and preached, and the 
light broke in upon him, and the word was with pow- 
er, and a revival commenced that very day. 

6. A minister should be provided for by the church, 
and his support guaranteed, irrespective of the ungodly. 
Otherwise he may be obliged either to starve his 
family, or to keep back a part of the truth so as not 
to offend sinners. I once expostulated with a minister 
who I found was afraid to come out fully with the 
truth. I told him 1 was surprised he did not bear 
down on certain points. He told me he was so situ- 
ated that he must please certain men, who would be 
touched there. It was the ungodly that chiefly sup- 
ported him, and that made him dependent and tem- 
porizing. And yet perhaps that very church which 
left their minister dependent on the ungodly for his 
bread, will turn round and abuse him for his want of 
faith, and his fear of men. The church ought always 
to say to their minister, " We will support you ; go 
to work ; let the truth pour down on the people, and 
we will stand by you." 

7. See that every thing is so arranged, that people 
can sit comfortably in meeting. If people do not sit 
easy, it is difficult to get or to keep their attention. 



HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 239 

And if they are not attentive, they cannot be convert- 
ed. They have come to hear for their lives, and they 
ought to be so situated that they can hear with all 
their souls, and have nothing in their bodily position 
to call for attention. Churches do not realize how 
important it is that the place of meeting should be 
made comfortable. I do not mean showy. All your 
glare and glory of rich chandeliers, and rich carpets, 
and splendid pulpits, is the opposite extreme, and takes 
off the attention just as badly, and defeats every ob- 
ject for which a sinner should come to meeting. You 
need not expect a revival there. 

8. See that the house of God is kept cleanly. The 
house of God should be kept as clean as you would 
want your own house to be kept. Churches are often 
kept excessively slovenly. I have seen them, where 
people used so much tobacco, and took so little care 
about neatness, that it was impossible to preach with 
comfort. Once in a protracted meeting, the thing was 
charged upon the church, and they had to acknow- 
ledge it, that they paid more money for tobacco than 
they did for the cause of missions. They could not 
kneel in their pews, and ladies could not sit without 
all the time watching their clothes, and they had to be 
careful where they stepped, because the house was so 
dirty, and there was so much tobacco juice running 
all about the floor. If people cannot go where they 
can hear without being annoyed with offensive sights 
and smells, and where they can kneel in prayer, what 
good will a protracted meeting do ? There is an im- 
portance in these things, which is not realized. See 



240 HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 

that man ! What is he doing? I am preaching to him 
about eternal life, and he is thinking about the dirty- 
pew. And that woman is asking for a footstool to 
keep her feet out of the tobacco juice. Shame ! 

9. It is important that the house should be just warm 
enough, and not too warm. Suppose a minister comes 
into a house, and finds it cold ; he sees as soon as he 
gets in, that he might as well stay at home ; the peo- 
ple are shivering, their feet cold, they feel as if they 
should take cold, they are uneasy, and he wishes he 
was at home, for he knows he cannot do any thing, 
but he must preach, or they will be disappointed. 

Or he may find the house too warm, and the peo- 
ple, instead of listening to the truth, are fanning, and 
panting for breath, and by and by a woman faints, and 
makes a stir, and the train of thought and feeling is 
all lost, and so a whole sermon is wasted to no good 
end. These little things take off the attention of peo- 
ple from the words of eternal life. And very often 
it is so, that if you drop a single link in the chain of 
argument, you lose the whole, and the people are 
damned, just because the careless church do not see 
to the proper regulation of these little matters. 

10. The house should be well ventilated. Of all 
houses, a church should be the most perfectly venti- 
lated. If there is no change of the air, it passes 
through so many lungs it becomes bad, and its vitality 
is exhausted, and the people pant, they know not why, 
and feel an almost irresistible desire to sleep, and the 
minister preaches in vain. The sermon is lost, and 
worse than lost. I have often wondered that this 



HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 241 

matter should be so little the subject of thought. The 
elders and trustees will sit and hear a whole sermon, 
while the people are all but ready to die for the want 
of air, and the minister is wasting his strength in 
preaching where the room is just like an exhausted 
receiver, and there they sit and never think to do any 
thing to help the matter. They should take it upon 
themselves to see that this is regulated right, that the 
house is just warm enough, and the air kept pure. 
How important it is that the church should be awake 
to this subject, that the minister may labor to the best 
advantage, and the people give their undivided atten- 
tion to the truth, which is to save their souls. 

It is very common, when things are wrong, to have 
it all laid to the sexton. This is not so. Often the 
sexton is not to blame. If the house is cold and un- 
comfortable, very often it is because the fuel is not 
good, or the stoves not suitable, or the house is so 
open it cannot be warmed. If it is too warm, per- 
haps somebody has intermeddled when he was out, 
and heaped on fuel without discretion. Or, if the 
sexton is in fault, perhaps it is because the church do 
not pay him enough for his services, and he cannot 
afford to give the attention necessary to keep the 
church in order. Churches sometimes screw down 
the sexton's salary, to the lowest point, so that he is 
obliged to slight his work. Or they will select one 
who is incompetent, for the sake of getting him cheap, 
and then the thing is not done. The fault is in the 
church. Let them give an adequate compensation for 
the work, and it can be done, and done faithfully. If 



242 HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 

one sexton will not do it right, another will, and the 
church are bound to see it done right, or else let them 
dismiss their minister, and not keep him, and at the 
same time have other things in a state so out of order 
that he loses all his work. What economy ! To pay 
the minister's salary, and then for the want of fifty 
dollars added to the sexton's wages, every thing is so 
out of order that the minister's labors are all lost, 
souls are lost, and your children and neighbors go 
down to hell ! 

Sometimes this uncleanliness, and negligence, and 
confusion are chargeable to the minister. Perhaps he 
uses tobacco, and sets the example of defiling the 
house of God. Perhaps the pulpit will be the filthiest 
place in the house. I have sometimes been in pulpits, 
that were too loathsome to be occupied by human be- 
ings. If a minister has no more piety and decency 
than this, no wonder things are at loose ends in the 
congregation. And generally it is even so. 

1 1 . People should leave their dogs, and very young 
children, at home. I have often known contentions 
arise among dogs, and children to cry, just at that 
state of the services, that would most effectually des- 
troy the effect of the meeting. If children are pre- 
sent and weep, they should instantly be removed. I 
have sometimes known a mother or a nurse sit and 
toss her child, while its cries were diverting the at- 
tention of the whole congregation. This is cruel. 
And as for dogs, they had infinitely better be dead, 
than to divert attention from the word of God. See 
that deacon ; perhaps his dog has in this way destroy- 



ttOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 243 

ed more souls than the deacon will ever be instrumen- 
tal in saving. 

12. The members of the church should aid the 
minister by visiting from house to house, and trying 
to save souls. Do not leave all this to the minister. 
It is impossible he should do it, even if he gives all 
his time, and negbcts his study and his closet. Church 
members should take pains and qualify themselves for 
this duty, so that they can be useful in it. 

13. They should hold Bible classes. Suitable in* 
dividuals should be selected to hold Bible classes, for 
the instruction of the young people, and where those 
who are awakened or affected by the preaching, can 
be received and be converted. As soon as any one is 
seen to be touched, let them be invited to join the 
Bible class, where they will be properly treated, and 
probably they will be converted. The church should 
select the best men for this service, and should all be 
on the look out to fill up the Bible classes. It has 
been done in this congregation, and it is a very com- 
mon thing, when persons are impressed, that they are 
observed by somebody, and invited to join the Bible 
class, and they will do it, and there they are convert- 
ed. I do not mean that we are doing all we ought to 
do in this way, or all we might do. We want more 
teachers, able and willing to take charge of such 
classes. 

14. Churches should sustain Sabbath schools, and 
in this way aid their ministers in saving souls. How 
can a minister attend to this and preach ? Unless the 
church will take off these responsibilities, and cares, 



244 HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 

and labors, he must either neglect them, or be crushed. 
Let the church be WIDE AWAKE, watch and 
bring in children to the school, and teach them faith- 
fully, and lay themselves out to promote a revival in 
the school. 

15. They should watch over the members of the 
church. They should visit each other, in order to stir 
each other up, know each other's spiritual state, and 
provoke one another to love and good works. The 
minister cannot do it, he has not time; it is impossible 
he should study and prepare sermons, and at the same 
time visit every member of the church as often as it 
needs to be done to keep them advancing. The 
church are bound to do it. They are under oath to 
watch over each other's spiritual welfare. But how 
is this done? Many do not know each other, They 
meet and pass each other as strangers, and never ask 
about their spiritual condition. But if they hear any 
thing bad of one, they go and tell it to others. In- 
stead of watching over each other for their good, 
they watch for their halting. How can they watch 
for good when they are not even acquainted with 
each other? 

16. The church should watch for the effect of preach- 
ing. If they are praying for the success of the 
preached word, they will watch for it of course. 
They should keep a look out, and when any in the 
congregation give evidence that the word of God has 
taken hold of them, they should follow it up. Wher- 
ever there are any exhibitions of feeling, those per- 
sons should be attended to, instantly, and not left till 



tiOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 245 

their impressions wear off. They should talk to them, 
or get them visited, or get them into the anxious meet- 
ing, or into the Bible class, or bring them to the min- 
ister. If the members of the church do not attend to 
this, they neglect their duty. If they attend to it, 
they may do incalculable good* 

There was a pious young woman, who lived in a 
very cold and wicked place. She alone had the spirit 
of prayer, and she had been praying for a blessing 
upon the word. At length she saw one individual in 
the congregation who seemed to be affected by the 
preaching, and as soon as the minister came from the 
pulpit, she came forward, agitated and trembling, and 
begged him to go and converse with the person im- 
mediately. He did so, and the individual was soon 
converted, and a revival followed. Now one of your 
stupid professors would not have seen that individual 
awakened, and would have stumbled over half a 
dozen of them without notice, and let them go to hell. 
Professors should watch every sermon, and see how 
it affects the congregation. I do not mean that they 
should be stretching their necks and staring about the 
house, but they should observe, as they may, and if 
they find any person affected by preaching, throw 
themselves in his way, and guide him to the Savior. 

17. Beware, and not give away all the preaching to 
others. If you do not take your portion, you will 
starve, and become like spiritual skeletons. Chris- 
tians should take their portion (o themselves. If the 
word should be quite searching to them, they should 
make the honest application, and lay it along side 



246 HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 

their heart and practice it, and live by it. Otherwise 
preaching will do them no good. 

18. Be ready to aid your minister in effecting his 
plans for doing good. When the minister is wise to 
devise plans for usefulness, and the church ready to 
execute them, they may carry all before them. But 
when the church hang back from every enterprise 
until they are actually dragged into it, when they are 
opposing every proposal, because it will cost some- 
thing, they are a dead weight upon a minister. If 
stoves are needed, O no, they will cost something. 
If lamps are called for, to prevent preaching in the 
dark, O no, they will cost something. And so they 
will stick up candles on the posts, or do without even- 
ing meetings altogether. If they stick up candles, it 
soon comes to pass that they either give no light, or 
some one must run round and snuff them. And so the 
whole congregation are disturbed by the candle snuf- 
fer, their attention taken off, and the sermon lost. 

I was once attending a protracted meeting, where 
we were embarrassed because there were no lamps 
to the house. I urged the people to get them, but 
they thought it would cost too much. I then proposed 
to get them myself, and was about to do it, but found 
it would give offence, and we w T ent on without. But 
the blessing did not come, to any great extent. How 
could it ? The church began by calculating to a cent 
how much it would cost, and they would not go be- 
yond, to save souls from hell. 

So where a minister appoints a meeting, such peo- 
ple cannot have it, because it will cost something. If 



HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 247 

they can offer unto the Lord that which costs nothing, 
they will do it. Miserable helpers they are! Such 
a church can have no revival. A minister might as 
well have a millstone about his neck, as such a church. 
He had better leave them, if he cannot learn them 
better, and go where he will not be so hampered. 

1 9. Church members should make it a point to at- 
tend prayer meetings, and attend in time. Some church 
members will always attend on preaching, because 
there they have nothing to do, but to sit and hear, and 
be entertained, but they will not attend prayer meet- 
ings, for fear they shall be called on to do something. 
Such members tie up the hands of the minister, and 
discourage his heart. Why do they employ a minis- 
ter ? Is it to amuse them by preaching ? or is it that 
he may teach them the will of God that they may do 
it? 

20. Church members ought to study and inquire 
what they can do, and then do it. Christians should 
be trained like a band of soldiers. It is the duty and 
office of a minister to train them for usefulness, to 
teach them and direct them, and lead them on, in such 
a way as to produce the greatest amount of moral in- 
fluence. And then they should stand their ground 
and do their duty, otherwise they will be right in the 
way. 

There are many other points which I noted, and 
intended to touch upon, but there is not time. I could 
write a book as big as this Bible, in detailing the va- 
rious particulars that ought to be attended to. I must 
close with a few 
19 



248 HOW CIIUIICHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 

REMARKS. 

1. You see that a minister's want of success may 
not be wholly on account of a want of wisdom in the 
exercise of his office. I am not going to plead for 
negligent ministers. I never will spare ministers from 
the naked truth, nor apply flattering titles to men. If 
they are blameworthy, let them be blamed. And no 
doubt they are always more or less to blame when the 
word produces no effect. But it is far from being 
true that they are always the principal persons to 
blame. Sometimes the church is much more to blame 
than the minister, and if an apostle or an angel from 
heaven were to preach, he could not produce a revi- 
val of religion in that church. Perhaps they are dis- 
honest to their minister, or covetous, or careless about 
the conveniences of public worship. Alas! what a 
state many country churches are in, where, for the 
want of a hundred dollars, every thing is inconvenient 
and uncomfortable, and the labors of the preacher are 
lost. They live in ceiled houses themselves, and let 
the house of God lie waste. Or the church counter- 
act all the influence of preaching, by their ungodly 
lives. Or perhaps their parties, their worldly show, 
as in most of the churches in this city, annihilate the 
influence of the gospel. 

2. Churches should remember that they are exceed- 
ingly guilty, to employ a minister, and then not aid 
him in his work. The Lord Jesus Christ has sent an 
ambassador to sinners, to turn them from their evil 
ways, and he fails of his errand, because the church 
refuse to do their duty. Instead of recommending 



HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 249 

his message, and seconding his entreaties, and holding 
up his hands in all the ways that are proper, they 
stand right in the way, and contradict his message, 
and counteract his influence, and souls perish. No 
doubt in most of the congregations in the United 
States, the minister is often hindered so much, that he 
might as well be on a foreign mission a great part of 
the time, as to be there, for any effect of his preach- 
ing in the conversion of sinners, while he has to 
preach over the heads of an inactive, stupid church. 

And yet these very churches are not willing to have 
their minister absent a few days to attend a protract- 
ed meeting. " We cannot spare him ; why he is our 
minister , and we like to have our minister here;" 
while at the same^time they hinder all he can do. If 
he could, he would tear himself right away, and go 
where there is no minister, and where the people 
would be willing to receive the gospel. But there he 
must stay, though he cannot get the church into a 
state to have a revival once in three years, to last 
three months at a time. It might be well for him to 
say to the church, " Whenever you are determined to 
take one of these long naps, I wish you to let me 
know it, so that I can go and labor somewhere else in 
the mean time, till you are ready to wake again." 

3. Many churches cannot be blessed with a revival, 
because they are spunging out of other churches, and 
out of the treasury of the Lord, for the support of 
their minister, when they are abundantly able to sup- 
port him themselves. Perhaps they are depending on 
the Home Missionary Society, or on other churches, 



250 HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 

while they are not exercising any self-de7iial for the 
sake of the gospel. I have been amazed to see how 
some churches live. One church that I was acquaint- 
ed with, actually confessed that they spent more mo- 
ney for tobacco, than they gave for missions. And 
yet they had no minister, because they were not able to 
support one. And they have none now. And yet 
there is one man in that church who is able to support 
a minister. And still they have no minister, and no 
preaching. 

The churches have not been instructed in their duty 
on this subject. I stopped in one place last summer, 
where there was no preaching. I inquired of an elder 
in the church, why it was so, and he said it was be- 
cause they were so poor. I asked him how much he 
was worth. He did not give me a direct answer, but 
said that another elder's income was about $500 a 
year, and I finally found out that this man's was about 
the same. Here, said I, are two elders, each of you 
able to support a minister, and because you cannot 
get help from abroad, you have no preaching. Why, 
if you had preaching, it would not be blessed, while 
you were thus spunging out of the Lord's treasury. 
Finally, he confessed that he was able to support a 
minister, and the two together agreed that they would 
do it. 

It is common for churches to ask help, when in 
fact they do not need any help, and when it would be 
a great deal better for them to support their own min- 
ister. If they get funds from the Home Missionary 
Society, when they ought to raise them themselves, 



HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 251 

they may expect the curse of the Lord upon them, 
and this will be a sufficient reason for the gospel's 
proving to them a curse rather than a blessing. Of 
how many churches might it be said, " Ye have 
robbed God, even this whole church." 

I know a church who employed a minister but half 
the time, and felt unable to pay his salary for that. A 
female working society in a neighboring town appro- 
priated their funds to this object, and assisted this 
church in paying their minister's salary. The result 
was, as might be expected. He did them little or no 
good. They had no revival under his preaching, nor 
could they ever expect any, while acting on such a 
principle. There was one man in that congregation 
who could support a minister all the time. I was in- 
formed by a member, that the church members were 
supposed to be worth two hundred thousand dol- 
lars. Now if this is true, here is a church with an 
income, at seven per cent., of $14,000 a year, who 
felt themselves too poor to pay $200 for the support of 
a minister to preach half the time, and would suffer the 
females of a neighboring town to work with their 
own hands to aid them in paying this sum. Among 
the elders of this church, I found that several of them 
used tobacco, and two of them who lived together 
signed a covenant written on the blank leaf of their 
Bible, in which they pledged themselves to abandon 
that sin for ever. 

It was in a great measure for want of right instruc- 
tion, that this church was pursuing such a course. 
For when the subject was taken up, and their duty 



252 HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 

laid before them, the wealthy man of whom I am 
speaking said that he would pay the whole salary 
himself, if he thought it would not be resented by the 
congregation, and do more hurt than good ; and that 
if the church would procure a minister, and go ahead 
and raise a part of his salary, he would make up the 
remainder. They can now not only support a minis- 
ter half the time, but all the time, and pay his salary 
themselves. And they will find it good and profitable 
to do so. 

As I have gone from place to place laboring in re- 
vivals, I have always found that churches were bless- 
ed in proportion to their liberality. Where they have 
manifested a disposition to support the gospel, and to 
pour their substance liberally into the treasury of the 
Lord, they have been blessed both in spiritual and in 
temporal things. But where they have been parsi- 
monious, and let the minister preach for them for lit- 
tle or nothing, these churches have been cursed in- 
stead of blessed. And as a general thing, in revivals 
of religion, I have found it to be true that young con- 
verts are most inclined to join those churches which 
are most liberal in making efforts to support the gos- 
pel. 

The churches are very much in the dark on this 
subject. They have not been taught their duty. I 
have in many instances found an exceeding readiness 
to do it, when the subject was laid before them. I 
knew an elder in a church, who was talking about 
getting a minister for half the time, because the church 
were poor, although his own income was considerable. 



HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 253 

I asked him if his income was not sufficient to support 
a minister all the time himself. He said it was. And 
on being asked what other use he could make of the 
Lord's money which he possessed, that would prove 
so beneficial to the interest of Christ's kingdom, as to 
employ a minister not only half but all the time in his 
own town, he concluded to set himself about it. A 
minister has been accordingly obtained, and I believe 
they find no difficulty in paying him his full salary. 

The fact is, that a minister can do but little by 
preaching only half the time. If on one Sabbath an 
impression is made, it is lost before a fortnight comes 
round. As a matter of economy, a church should lay 
themselves out to support the gospel all the time. If 
they get the right sort of a minister, and keep him 
steadily at work, they may have a revival, and thus 
the ungodly will be converted and come in and help 
them. And thus in one year they may have a great 
accession to their strength. But if they employ a 
minister but half the time, year after year may roll 
away, while sinners are going to hell, and no acces- 
sion is made to their strength from the ranks of the 
ungodly. 

The fact is, that professors of religion have not 
been made to feel, that all their possessions are the 
Lord's. Hence they have talked about giving their 
property for the support of the gospel. As if the 
Lord Jesus Christ was a beggar, and they called upon 
to support his gospel, as an act of almsgiving ! A 
merchant in one of the towns in this state, was pay- 
ing a large part of his minister's salary. One of the 



254 HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 

members of the church was relating the fact to a min- 
ister from abroad, and speaking of the sacrifice which 
this merchant was making. At this moment the mer- 
chant came in. a Brother," said the minister, " you 
are a merchant. Suppose you employ a clerk to sell 
goods, and a school-master to teach your children. 
You order your clerk to pay your school -master out 
of the store such an amount, for his services in teach- 
ing. Now suppose your clerk should give out that 
he had to pay this school-master his salary, and should 
speak of the sacrifices that he was making to do it, 
what would you say to this?" " Why," said the mer- 
chant, " I should say it was ridiculous." " Well," 
says the minister, " God employs you to sell goods as 
his clerk, and your minister he employs to teach his 
children, and requires you to pay his salary out of the 
income of the store. Now, do you call this your 
sacrifice, and say that you are making a great sacri- 
fice, to pay this minister's salary ? No, you are just 
as much bound to sell goods for God, as he is to 
preach for God. You have no more right to sell 
goods for the purpose of laying up money, than he 
has to preach the gospel for the same purpose. You 
are bound to be just as pious, and to aim as singly at 
the glory of God, in selling goods, as he is in preach- 
ing, the gospel. And thus you are as absolutely to 
give up your whole time for the service of God, as 
he does. You and your family may lawfully live out 
of the avails of this store, and so may the minister 
and his family, just as lawfully. If you sell goods 
from these motives, selling goods is just as much serv- 






HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 255 

ing God as preaching. And a man who sells goods 
upon these principles, and acts in conformity to them, 
is just as pious, just as much in the service of God, 
as he is who preaches the gospel. Every man is 
bound to serve God in his calling, the minister by 
teaching, the merchant by selling goods, the farmer 
by tilling his fields, the lawyer and phj^sician by ply- 
ing the duties of their profession. 

"It is equally unlawful for any one of these to la- 
bor for the meat that perisheth. All they do is to be 
for God, and all they can earn, after comfortably sup- 
porting their families, is to be dedicated to the spread 
of the gospel and the salvation of the world." 

It has long enough been supposed that ministers 
must be more pious than other men, that they must not 
love the world, that they must labor for God: they 
must live as frugally as possible, and lay out their 
whole time, and health, and strength, and life, to build 
up the kingdom of Jesus Christ. This is true. But 
although other men are not called to labor in the same 
field, and to give up their time to public instruction, 
yet they are just as absolutely bound to consider their 
whole time as God^s, and have no more right to love 
the world, or accumulate wealth, or lay it up for their 
children, or spend it upon their lusts, than ministers 
have. 

Finally — If they mean to be blessed, let them do 
their duty, do all their duty, put shoulder to the 
wheel, gird on the gospel armor, and come up to the 
work. Then, if the church is in the field, the car of 
salvation will move on, though all hell oppose, and 



256 HOW CHURCHES CAN HELP MINISTERS. 

sinners will be converted and saved. But if a churcb 
will give up all the labor to the minister, and sit still 
and look on, while he is laboring, and themselves do 
nothing but complain of him, they will not only fail 
of a revival of religion, but if they continue slothful 
and censorious, will by and by find themselves in hell 
for their disobedience and unprofitableness in the ser- 
vice of Christ, 



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